Love Doesn't Come From A Potion
by The Grim
Summary: SSHG, Snape feels alien emotions he hasn't felt in 16 years, and Hermione begins to feel these emotions for the first time in her life...R&R! Finished
1. Chapter 1: Of all People, Prologue

A/N: I've decided to take a whack at an SS/HG fanfic. Hope you like it, I have to say, almost all possible ideas have been covered already by other brilliant people, but oh well!  It will be a slow development at first, and then it will pick up, I promise. Review please; I always like compliments and feedback! J

I saw the PoA today (Saturday 5th) and it was awesome! Anyone else agree??

         Hermione did not know what her sixth year at Hogwarts would bring, but all she knew was that at least she still had Harry and Ron to depend on. She smiled inwardly to herself, since when did she depend on them? More likely the other way around, they always were struggling through homework every tear, and every year she patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) helped them. Not that she really minded, she liked being able to help her friends out, after so much they'd done for her over the past five years.

         "Hermione! Hermione!"  The very two people in question came running towards her, pulling their trunks behind them after they had entered Platform 93/4. Their smiling faces were contagious; she found herself beaming as the two boys, (who had grown even more over the summer) embraced her.

         "You know, you're going to have to let go of me at some point, we have to get on the train soon…" Ron and Harry broke away and Ron sorted a look of mock sadness.

         "Aw, give us a break, Herm, we haven't seen you for-"

         "Three days," interrupted Harry, giving Ron a playful shove. "Honestly, you are pathetic Ron, we say each other at the Order almost the entire summer!"

         "Yeah, but still-"

         "Oh there you are Ron, Harry! Why hello again, Hermione!" Mrs. Weasley had strode over, smiling at the tree of them, accompanied by Fred, George, Ginny, and Mr. Weasley.

         "Good morning, Hermione. Ready for school?" asked Mr. Weasley.

         "I suppose so, Mr. Weasley. I doubt I'll get anything done with these two bugging me all year." Ron and Harry faces fell, but only for a moment.

         "Can you believe it? Me and Harry got 8 OWLs!"

         "And I got 9," she smirked at them.

         "That's only because _you're _taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, and you dropped Divination!" argued Ron. Hermione smiled. They would never not have any arguments; some things never change. 

         "Oh! Come on, the train is about to leave!" broke in Mrs. Weasley. They all hurried to get their trunks on the train and climbed aboard, choosing a compartment at the end of the train. At 11 o' clock sharp, the Hogwarts Express left the station for Hogwarts School.

Hermione could not have been more happier to go back to the school, which had been basically been her home for five years. She sighed; unfortunately, everyone was either coupled in their year or really close friends. Not that Harry and Ron were close friends, but Harry and Ron were infatuated with only one thing: Quidditch, and she was left out a lot. A single tear fell slowly down her cheek, she wiped it quickly away, everyone thought of her as an in-sufferable know-it-all, quoting from Professor Snape. Professor Snape, now that was one person she was not prepared to face again. His hatred of Harry had deepened, regardless of being in the Order.

What worried Hermione more about Snape was his sudden change of character. He was actually civil to her and her friends at the Order, not once the entire summer did he insult her, but she was sure he colors would change back to normal once he was in front of a classroom again. Hermione decided she would just forget about that for now and helped herself to a Chocolate Frog that Ron handed to her.

The very person Hermione has thought about was thinking about her, of all people. Snape did not know why, but he noticed a change in Hermione. She was not the arrogant know-it-all of the previous four years of school. She seemed much more content most of the time, and he'd swore she'd smiled at him several times at Grimmauld Place. He'd actually had some good conversations with her about different potions, and he realized how intelligent beyond her years she really was. She was a sixteen year old with the mind of a woman twenty years older; Snape's age.

He cursed himself, why was he thinking about such radical things? Snape did not like change, and he made his way down to the dungeons, wondering why he was thinking about Hermione Granger, of_ all _people. 


	2. Chapter 2: Look to Liking

**A/N: Thank you to my three reviewers so far, lunar wolf spirit, Cassie and sevslittlewitch! You are awesome! (Unlike those other people who haven't _reviewed yet!_) Neways, the romance will get more, uh, lets say, apparent, but I have to get Hermione into the _freaking_ school first in order for my evil diabolical plan to work…(Did I just say that? cough I mean, never mind).  Here it goes! Review, Review, Review! NOW! **

**Chapter 2: Look to Liking**

            Hermione waited anxiously for the first years to finish being sorted into the houses; for once in her years at Hogwarts she didn't care and would rather begin eating the feast that always awaited them.

            Finally, when a random first year named Zirconi, Josie was sorted into Ravenclaw; Dumbledore rose to make his speech. As always, he radiated calm and power, and Hermione never doubted for a second that he was the only one the Dark Lord feared. 

            "Another year at Hogwarts, and more students to join us. I have just a few announcements, and we will get on with the food." He paused for effect. "First of all, the forest is forbidden to all students, hence the name **Forbidden** Forest. Also, Filch has suggested to me to remind you for the six thousand, eight hundred and fifty-second time that there are many items that are not permitted in this school, and there is a lengthy list posted on his office door. Also, that the position of Defense against the Dark Arts teacher is being filled by the returning Professor Remus Lupin!"

And before he could get two more words in, there was uproar of applause and shouting, especially from the Gryffindor table. Then it gave way to waves of urgent whispers, for many had learned that Remus Lupin was a werewolf, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew this all too well. Hermione managed to sneak a look at Professor Snape, who was not clapping and had a look on his face that would have made the Dark Lord himself drop over dead. _She laughed silently, he was back to his normal self, but she would only know for sure tomorrow._

"And finally, I leave you with these words: Rumplefrazzle Doink!" And the long-awaited food appeared, and everyone dug in with gusto.

By the time everyone had gone to the common rooms and Hermione had returned from Prefect duties with Ron, she was exhausted and practically fell into bed, and was instantly asleep.

%%%

Lavender Brown was shaking Hermione to wake her up; they were late for breakfast. Hermione leaped out of bed and was down into the Great Hall in record time just in time to get her course schedule. She took a seat next to Harry and Ron, and went over her schedule. Harry groaned.

"We have **double Potions** today first thing! Is life not fair or what??"

"Oh, Harry, it won't be so bad, we actually are able to take Advanced Potions, remember? All three of us got O's on our Potions exam for OWL's."

"Yeah, Hermione, but still…two hours with that prat of a teacher!" butted in Ron indignantly.

"Oh you two are hopeless, he's really not that bad…"

"Unless of course he has a grudge against you," said Harry.

"And a deep hatred that goes farther than his loyalty to the Order," added Ron. Harry nodded in agreement. Hermione had to agree as well; Snape seemed to have it in for Ron, but not as much as Harry.

"He was relatively nice and civil to me during the summer at the Order," she argued.

"Yeah, because he thought Sirius was going to come back from the dead and haunt him if he wasn't nice to people!" He looked at Harry, who suddenly was very depressed and silent. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot you're still, well, grieving and all…"

"It's fine Ron. I almost wish he would do that, then I could see him again," replied Harry gloomily, before he got up from the table and walked away with his hands in his pockets. Ron stared after his best friend's retreating figure for only a second, then turned back to Hermione, a look of suspicion on his face.

"And now why are you making such a big deal about Snape being nice to you all of sudden? You think he's still a greasy git, right?"

"Well, no, not really-" _Hermione suddenly realized what she was saying. She was implying she actually liked Professor Snape; she didn't… or did she? All she knew was that she was telling the wrong person about that.  _

"Have you gone **mad**?!" Ron said a little too loudly.

"Ron, all I'm saying is that he's changed; he's not just a prat anymore, and I wish you'd give him more respect, after all, he basically decides if you fail Potions or not! You do want to get into NEWTS Potions?

"Of course I do, but still, the unfair, evil, twisted, greasy-"

"RON!"

"-hooked nosed prat!" Ron finished defiantly. Hermione got up in a huff and began walking to the dungeons to Potions, with Ron not far behind her.

Instead of making a quote "frightening" entrance after class had started as always, he was sitting at his desk, looking with a sneer at every non-Slytherin. Hermione took a place in the front of the room, as always. Snape gave her a look that she had never seen before, a searching and curious look with a slight twinge of fondness in his eyes. She managed a quick smile, but before she had time to even process it, it was gone, only a flicker of something Hermione thought, sadly, that she'd never see again.

_"What was that all about? I felt like I melted inside. Was it from fear, or something else?"_ Hermione was so confused she hardly noticed that Snape had already begun explaining the lesson and everyone was frantically flipping through his or her books. She snapped out of it, muttering, _"It was nothing, I probably just imagined it," _and opened her book along with everyone else.

Snape, on the other hand, had lost complete control of his emotions at that precise moment when he had looked at Hermione; it had scared him. He had a reputation to uphold, and that look, the emotions he had felt for sure had been plastered on his face, was dangerous. _But it was Hermione. She was never interested in boys, or men, he had never really seen her "with" anybody except for Victor Krum, but he was history. He mentally slapped himself, why did he care if she was "with" someone?_ But in a way, he desperately was.

As the lesson continued, he sat at his desk, constantly peeking over at Hermione. It was hard not to, she was right in front of him.Her brown hair, which had somehow become less bushy than in earlier years, was more silky and soft looking. She had full lips, and she was biting her lower lip; he knew it meant she was concentrating really hard. Her eyes he had never really noticed until the summer at the Order, almond shaped and an auburn brown and gold color that within their depths showed intelligence, maturity, and beauty.

Hermione looked up and their eyes locked, and Snape was so caught off-guard in his daydream, he had no time to sneer, he was trapped in those eyes.

Hermione realized that this was the most actual eye contact she had ever had with her professor, and it made her stomach flutter and her heart beat faster. 

_"What on earth is going on?" _she thought as she averted her eyes. That eye lock had gone for about a minute, but nobody had seemed to notice. She was glad no one had.

A/N: I will probably from now on put a person's thoughts in italics, and annunciations in bold. This chapter was longer, but it was because more was going on than in Chapter 1.  I also thought I'd try to make Dumbledore sound as close as possible to what he does in the books, especially with his random final words (i.e. Rumplefrazzle Doink) If I get more reviews ahem I will probably put the next chapter up faster! Also, of I missed any other reviewers in the past 24 hours, I'm sorry; I've only officially seen those three people so far. In the future, I will try not to bore your head off with long author notes.


	3. Chapter 3: Uncomfortably Comfortable

A/N: Hello people, I'm so glad I'm getting reviews! This is making me happy…but yeah, if you don't like these slashes at all, then why are you reading this? You should be off in your own stupid little RW/HG, HG/DM, HP/HG slashed worlds. I would like to dedicate this story to my two best friends, who had several comments about this that I find amusing, well here they are:  "WHY?!?"  "You are a flaming weirdo!" "That's just sick." "WHY??" "Do you realize how perverted you are?" "WHY??" "He's like, in his forties or something!" "WHY?" (Yeah, you get the picture, but anyway, I am doing this because I CAN! Plus, I, for one, think I am a substantially good writer, therefore not making it a crappy HGSS! Ok, now read!)

Chapter 3: Uncomfortably Comfortable

Several weeks had passed by since that first day of Potions, when Snape and her had locked eyes. She shuddered; did she really need to think about that? One thing that had caught her curiosity, though, she was not sure what to do about it. He looked like he doodled. He now rarely prowled around the classroom until the very end, to comment on how horrible our potions looked, although hers he never found anything wrong with. He would stand behind her for a long time before striding over to the terrified Neville, who he could not believe had passed his Potions OWL.

_He always seems to be drawing, why is that? He's not doodling D's or anything on people's papers, but on blank parchment. What is he doing? Ginny says he never does things like that in her class; he only seems to do this in our sixth year class. One time Harry and Ron came in late, and he didn't even blink an eye. What is wrong with that man?_

Hermione could only have time for such thoughts in Potions, always aware of his eyes on her as she worked. Was he just trying to catch her making a mistake to take points off? She did not know, but the amount of homework he gave them did not seem to be altered by his new moods.

"Hermione! Wait up!" Harry ran to catch up with her as she walked to the library, as usual.

"Oh, hi, Harry. What's up?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd come up and work on homework with you," he said casually.

"No, you may not copy!"

"I wasn't planning too! I'm a sixth year now, I think I can write most of my essays myself."

"Fine then." And they entered the library and chose a quiet table in the corner so as not to be disturbed. And then they set out their books, dipped their quills into the inkwells, and began to write…

Snape had just finished with his first year class, laughing at how stupid they all were. He loved terrifying them the most, setting up the fear that would follow them through the rest of their years at Hogwarts. Then his mind drifted onto Hermione Granger, which it hadn't done for the past several weeks.

Did he think of her as intelligent? Worthy of such time put into thinking about her? He did not know. It was slightly unnerving to him that he was middle-aged, only about 36 years old, thinking about a 16 year old girl, well, woman was more of what she was now. Regardless of the increased toughness of sixth year Potions, Hermione was going through it like she was half asleep. He pondered why everything was so easy for her. A muggle-born with that much intelligence? He did not think it was possible. 

But it was. He doubted any other kid her age in the Muggle world had an once of intelligence comparable to her. Maybe he was wrong in thinking all Muggle-borns were stupid, slow, and lacking in magical skills. Hermione was very skilled, especially in Charms, (which Snape admired because Charms had never been his strong subject). 

He sipped at the now lukewarm fire whisky he had placed on his desk, untouched through these thoughts. Maybe he was going crazy, the Cruciatus Curse performed on him many times by the Dark Lord might have affected his mind somehow, that he was thinking of his students in an inappropriate way. He rose and realized that he now had to perform his hall-patrol duties tonight. He smiled; maybe he'd catch a student out of bed and give them detention. That was his favorite part of the job, everything else about it he hated, and it was a waste of his time. 

%%%

Hermione and Harry had worked late into the evening on their homework, Ron had joined them later, and now they realized that Madame Pince had not noticed them, and that the library was deserted.

"Harry, Herm, we were supposed to be in the Gryffindor Tower twenty minutes ago!" Frantic, they shoved their homework into the schoolbags and broke at a dead run to the common room. Unfortunately, Hermione had forgotten the trick step and her foot sunk in, Harry and Ron well ahead of her, not noticing her absence. She tried yanking her foot out, but it was hard with her heavy schoolbag; she dropped it.

The bag landed with a loud thud before rolling down the staircase, bumping into the sides with echoing bangs before coming to a halt at the bottom. Hermione froze, if the teachers heard that, she was dead.

And she heard footsteps coming down the corridor to the stairs, she yanked with all her might, but the trick stair just would not let her foot come out. Her heart beating fast in her chest, she waited for the person to discover her and punish her for being out of bed.

Snape had sullenly started his patrols, bored out of his mind that no one was around for him to give detention to. He made his way around in the dark, he knew where to go with depending on a light. He had heard a noise, and was coming to investigate. That was until he crashed into something soft and his foot sank into the telltale trick stair. He gave a grunt of surprise, and he heard a gasp very close to him. He felt a warm body against his, (the staircase was not very wide) and no matter where he turned, he still was pressed against the person. He gave a growl of annoyance and yanked out his wand.

"Lumos!"  And Hermione Granger appeared in front of his face, very close to it in fact. They were just inches away from each other, he could smell her, she smelled like lavender. 

"Hermione! I mean, Miss Granger! What in the bloody hell are you doing??" He hissed.

"Trying to get my foot out of this stair, Professor!" she said angrily.

"Five points for speaking like that to me, and detention!" he shot back.

"Sir?" she said, apparently, oblivious to loss of points and detention.

"What?!" Suddenly she put a hand on his chest, as if to lengthen the distance between them in these close quarters. It was warm, he felt through his robes, and he stopped moving, his eyes on her.

"Um, we need to get out of this stair, so will you just help me?" he laughed to himself. _Me, help a student? Yeah right. I'll just get myself out and leave her to fend for herself. I have never helped a student; this will not be the first time. _

But he realized that he would have to help her, he couldn't get himself out without twisting his ankle. So, with slight hesitation, wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping his glowing wand, and pulled as hard as he could, her foot came free finally, and he set her down as if she was a feather. His wand had, in his quick disposal of it, had clattered down the stairs, leaving them in the dark again.

Hermione was glad it was dark; she was blushing more scarlet that anything Ron had ever come close to.

Snape finally had enough space to get himself out of the step. Hermione was staring stupidly at him in the darkness. He brushed pashed her down the stairs to find his wand, Hermione close behind him.

"Must you follow me like a shadow? Go to your dormitories!"

"Sir, I dropped my book bag, I have to find it," came the meek reply. Then she kneeled down and picked something up, this caught Snape by surprise, and he tripped over her and they both fell on top of each other. Hermione did not think this night could get any stranger; first they had been stuck on the trick stair, comfortably close, and now Snape had fallen on top of her. This had to be the weirdest thing that had ever happened, if someone came upon them now, they would get a very wrong idea.

Snape, caught in a state of shock, gave a gasp for air; the fall had knocked the wind out of him. He felt Hermione's heart beating against his chest, her body shaking under him. He scrambled up and grabbed his wand, still glowing, off the floor several feet away. He glanced over at Hermione; she had pulled herself into a sitting position, staring at him in interest. He saw her book bag and grabbed it, shoving it into her arms; his hand brushed against hers. Hermione's hand tingled. Snape coughed uncomfortably.

"Get…to…. your…. dormitory…now…" He said weakly, and Hermione dashed away as fast as she could, leaving an uncomfortable and confused Snape alone in his small orb of light. 'Nox,' he whispered, and with a swish of his robes he strode off in the opposite direction in the dark.

A/N: Kinda long, but yeah. A somewhat humorous chapter with situations between Snape and Hermione. I am assuming cough that Lily and James married when they were 20, so 16 years later (Hermione's age) makes Snape 36 years old, since he was in their same year, ok? And the spiral staircase is supposed to be about three feet wide. Neways, review!


	4. Chapter 4: Unknown Talent

**A/N: First of all, I would like to respond to several peep's reviews. Number one, I stated in Chapter 3 in some dialogue that I believed Snape to be around 36 years old, not 20, as one person stated. I merely did a calculation, based on what I knew from the books. Number Two, I apologize if I stated somewhere that Hermione is a blonde; I _know_ she's a brunette. Number Three, thank you to the reviewer who pointed out that a "slash" meant something else…um, yeah, I'll be changing that…and finally Number Four, I am glad that people like the pace I'm going at with the "romance" because it is very good feedback as to how the story will continue! Thx!  **

I also just completely realized that I have not put a disclaimer in the first three chapters, oops. So, yeah, J.K. Rowling is the mastermind, and The Grim is just the big black friendly stray who is coming up with her own diabolical plot based on the mastermind's books. (That's me! Heehee…)

**Chapter 4: Unknown Talent**

Hermione slept badly that night; she could not stop thinking about what had happened on the staircase. Early that next morning she lay in bed staring at her canopy above in thought. _He's my teacher, he's so much older and above me, to him I'm just a know-it-all Mudblood. _She mentally pinched herself, she really did not need to insult herself, but that's what he thought of her. _Well, more happened that night than I expected. I thought he'd just give me detention, (oh yeah, he did) and then leave me to fend for myself. But he didn't. _He actually **helped** me out, and then I had to duck in front of him and pick up the wand and make him fall on top of me. She shivered. It was uncomfortable, yet, not. She wondered what else there was to Professor Snape.

         Dragging herself down to breakfast, she took a seat next to Ginny and Ron. Harry was not at his usual place. Ron mumbled something about 'finishing his potions essay' and then asked where the hell she'd gone to last night, she was right behind them, and then when they got back to the common room, she was not.

"Ron, my, er, foot got caught in the trick step, and then Snape caught me and gave me detention." She froze; she had to have detention with him, **alone**.

"Good luck, hope you survive," said Ron sympathetically. He sneaked a glance at Snape. "Why does he always try to make our lives miserable?!" banging his fist on the table, causing the people around him to look over.

"Look Ron, I'll just do whatever dirty job he has assigned and then get the hell out, no sweat. I'll just ignore anything he says to me." Ron shrugged and starting eating his plateful of eggs and bacon. Hermione, also hungry, began eating.

         _No, no, don't look at her, no, too late. _Snape had been poking around his plate of food until Hermione had walked into the Great Hall, and he watched her as she sat down, images of the previous night flashing through his brain. He gave an involuntary shudder, what had he been thinking?? He'd had to completely embarrass himself in front of the worst person possible: Hermione. He could not stop thinking about what had went on, replaying it critically through his mind.

         _That can't have been a coincidence, or an accident. Was there some inexplicable message Hermione was trying to portray to me? _There had definitely been some tiny fragment of chemistry he had felt, and if he were wrong, he'd damn well eat dragon dung. _Why is this so bloody scary? _He was ashamed, he was acting like he was 17 again, and it did not help matters that he had to endure her for a detention after that 'incident.'

         Hermione looked over cautiously at Snape, he had a deep look of concentration on his face as, she suddenly realized, was looking **right **at her. She looked away in embarrassment, blushing as she excused herself from the table. _Great, now he probably hates my guts even more now, what a way to start the year out. _And for some reason, this made her feel very sad.

         First, Ron, Hermione, and Harry, (who had showed up after breakfast looking clear minded and composed), had History of Magic. For the first time in her years at Hogwarts, she actually didn't listen to Professor Binn's lecture on goblin revolutions. _Besides, it's review anyway, _she thought, and then continued to let her mind wander towards surviving Potions next.

         Potions class was absolutely unbearable. As he had come to habitually do, he sat at his desk; doodling god knows what, staring at her when she wasn't looking, and then finally sweeping around the classroom at the end criticizing everyone's reviving potions, except hers. 'Evanesco' could be heard around the room as he vanished many students' potions. Surprisingly, he did not find anything wrong with Ron, Harry, and even **Neville's** potions. Harry and Ron looked immensely pleased with themselves, and Neville was just glad that he wasn't being yelled at.

"Miss Granger, would you please stay behind for a moment," Snape drawled silkily behind her, making her jump.

"Yes Professor."

         Once everyone had gone, Hermione waited for Snape to say something, but instead he sat back down at his desk, doodling. She decided he was waiting for her to walk up to his desk.

"Sir, is this about my detention?" Snape jumped ten feet in the air and frantically shoved his quill and piece of parchment into his desk, but she caught of glimpse of some drawing on it. Snape was extremely frazzled.

"Hermione, would you please come serve your detention at 7 o' clock sharp tonight, and oh, and don't be late." It was a question and a dismissal in one breath. Hermione stood staring in shock at him: he'd called her Hermione!

"Well, Granger," back to his defensive side, "get to your next class and close that hanging mouth of yours." Hermione stupidly turned around and walked out, feeling his ebony eyes burning into her from behind, but she did not notice the first flush of red that had been seen on Snape's face for 16 years.

         The day had passed too quickly, and soon it was ten to seven, and Hermione trudged to Snape's office. When she walked in, there was no one there. Puzzled, she glanced around to find another door that was slightly open. Thinking he must be in his office, she timidly pushed the door open.

         What she was seeing in Snape's office was something out of her worst nightmare and fantasy. Everywhere, there were **drawings of her**. They were piled on his desk amidst all stacks of essays, lying around everywhere, between books, shelves, and sitting on top of lab equipment. She picked up one and examined it.

         He was **really good**. The drawing looked almost exactly like her. He had caught every detail of her face, body, and hands. In this one, she was bent gracefully over her parchment, scribbling, most likely, an answer to a recent essay question on a test. He even had her picture biting her lower lip, just like she always did when she was concentrating. He had captured her very essence, her soul, in the simple black scratches of a quill.

         She frantically began looking at all the drawings she could find, there were at least twenty littered around. Some were of her stirring a potion, measuring ingredients, some were of her taking notes, and others showed her in formal dresses, or posing in her school uniform, and one of her laying down, leaning her hand against her cheek.

         Hermione did not know what to do. _Why is Snape sketching me? That must be why he stares at me in class, as a **model**. _Then she heard footsteps, Snape was coming; she dived headfirst underneath his desk, hitting her head hard on the edge, her world going black.

         Snape swept into the room. _It's seven-fifteen, where is Granger? She will get another week or more detention for skipping this one. Now what happened here? _Noticing all his pictures astray on the floor, he gathered them up, actually smiling at them.

         Then he went over to sit at his desk and wait for stupid Granger to show up. Once sitting in his desk chair, he felt something right against his leg. Pushing back the chair, he nearly had a heart attack. There was Hermione, lying unconscious against the desk with a large bruise on her temple.

         He cursed, and then dragged her to the couch and laid her on it. He pointed his wand at her bruise, said something, and it shrank until gone. He then went to his stock of potions and picked out a bottle of reviving potion that would wake her gently and a bottle of veritaserum. _I must find out what the hell she is doing,_ he muttered.

         Dropping a small trickle of the reviving draught on her lips, he waited while she licked it with her lips and swallowed. Hermione stirred, slowly fluttering her eyelids to wake. Snape then put a single drop of veritaserum on her lips and waited again until she was fully awake.

"Hermione Granger?" She finally opened her eyes halfway with a slightly vacant look.

"Yes?"

"What were you doing in my office?"

"I came at seven, but you weren't in the classroom, so I checked in here."

"But you didn't just sit here and wait patiently did you?"

"I saw all the drawings of me." Snape blanched for a second, then spoke quietly.

"Did you like them?" Hermione sighed.

"Yes, they were beautiful. I didn't know you were such an artist. I loved them."

Hermione suddenly jerked her head and opened her eyes wide; the veritaserum had worn off, and she was fully awake, staring into her Professor's face. Snape backed away and put the bottles back on the shelf. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her up to a standing position.

"You're dismissed, **Hermione**," his eyes glowing with laughter._ Who thought he had a sense of humor? _Hermione wondered as she gazed back at him; he still hadn't let go of her hand.

"Sir?"

"Call me Severus when we're alone, Hermione. I daresay I will tire of hearing 'Sir' and 'Professor' after another two weeks of detention."

**A/N: Soooo, little of everything, romance and some humor. Reviews make me happy! hint hint What on earth is to become of Hermione now??? ** 


	5. Chapter 5: Out Brief Candle

A/N: Hey, thanks for the "doggie treats" everyone! (I will now refer to your reviews as doggie treats, Heehee) Next chapter is here, and the furry black doggie that wrote it is waiting to be rewarded! J

**Disclaimer: This is all J.K. Rowling's; none of it is mine. (I think it's a waste of time & screen space to constantly have it, so this is the last disclaimer.)  **

**Chapter 5: Out Brief Candle**

"Two **weeks** of detention?!" sputtered Harry, "Now that is just the lowest of the low that he's ever gone…two weeks?" he finished weakly.

"If I may put it bluntly; that is bloody cruel!" said Ron vehemently.

"Yeah, two weeks…" echoed Hermione, in a daze. He'd called her Hermione. He'd wanted her to call him Severus, when on earth did that ever happen?

"Hey, Hermione, I guess you'll survive-somehow," Harry said consolingly. Harry did not know what was going on with Hermione. Ron thought she was just in shock from receiving that much punishment at one time in her life, he was not so sure. Her trancelike stupor was not of shock or dread, but something **else**. He could not put a finger on it, but there was something weird going on. 

"Herm, don't worry, we'll wait up for you every night, okay?" Ron offered.

"Thanks Ron, but you really don't have to," Hermione replied, 'It is really not that bad, really," looking at their skeptical faces.

"Whatever you say, Herm," Ron shrugged his shoulders. Ron did not know what was happening to Hermione, every since the beginning of school she started acting **funny**; he couldn't find any other word to describe it. Then again, he did not know how the mind of a girl actually worked, especially Hermione's.

            Hermione felt slightly better about the whole thing. Her friends seemed so concerned and emphatic for her that she was tempted to tell them everything, but something stopped her. _If I tell, Snape could get fired, I could be expelled; Ron and Harry would die simultaneously right in front of me, and this would be the bloody end of my life. _This was on her mind the entire day, as she counted the hours until her next detention, with a surprisingly strange anticipation.

%%%

            Seven o' clock found Hermione Granger sitting at a desk in the Potions classroom, waiting for Professor Snape; she was not about to sneak into his office again. And finally Snape swept into the classroom, looking every bit like his normal self, if she could tell what his normal self really **was** anymore.

"Ah, Hermione, I see you are on time-for once," Hermione flushed red, in what, embarrassment? Anger? Snape couldn't tell, but it was going to be an interesting night of detention with Miss Hermione Granger.

            He motioned for her to follow him and he led her to the Astronomy Tower, where he had a cauldron and various ingredients and equipment set about.

"In two weeks time is the start of the full moon, is it not? You will be brewing a Wolfsbane Potion for me, and it will take you the full two weeks of your detention. I thought an advanced potion such as this would not be too **difficult** for the infamous Hermione Granger," he explained with a touch of mischievousness.

"Well, **Severus**, I'm really good with potions, but this is a highly advanced one, you are one of the only ones who can actually successfully make it, so would you mind **helping me**?" returned Hermione in a pleading, soft tone that made Snape shiver. His challenge had not swayed her, she was making her own move in this game, and if she was willing to play, then so be it.

"Why not, Hermione? I really don't think it would be a good idea to have you blow up the Astronomy Tower, so of course I'll help you," he replied in a joking voice that was not his own.

            They worked side by side in silence, occasionally either would accidentally brush their hand against the other's, or reach across them to get something and on purpose lean against the other. This game, they both knew, was dangerous, yet they seemed to both enjoy the danger and challenge. Hermione had just finished grinding up some bird's talons and was annoyed because her hair kept getting in her face while she worked. Snape, suddenly, out of character, reached out and gently moved her hair to behind her ear. Hermione stopped moving as Snape touched her; her stomach fluttered. Snape took his hand away.

"I, um, Hermione, do you need a hair tie of some sort?" Snape offered uneasily. Hermione's mind was swirling in complicated thoughts, but she calmed herself.

"If you have one, could you put it in for me?" answered Hermione softly. Snape pulled out a ribbon from his pocket, **(don't ask where he got it, ok?) **and ran his fingers through her hair to pull it back into a ponytail and tied it in a bow. God, how badly he wanted to plunge his face into those wavy curls, they smelled **so **good. Hermione's neck tingled as Snape's fingertips grazed them, oh how much she wanted them to linger, longer.

            They were both motionless, and then Hermione turned around slowly. Snape moved over slightly and knocked over the candle sitting there, they were plunged into blackness, except for the small rays of moonlight from the opposite sides of the tower. Snape swore he stopped breathing completely, Hermione impulsively put out a hand to where she thought Snape was, and her hand touched his cheek. She cupped it in her palm; Snape placed his hand on her arm, acting as if he wanted her withdraw, but did not make a move to stop her. She stepped closer, so close that she could feel the warmth of his body radiating heat from his seemingly hot black robes.

            Snape felt her move forward, her hand still placed on his cheek, her thumb now gently stroking it. Fireworks were erupting under his skull; he felt like his whole world was spinning. _What am I **doing** with Hermione Granger??_ His voice inside his head screamed. Then he leaned forward and at the same time so did Hermione. Barely three inches apart, Hermione could feel his winded breathing, in and out, in and out. Just as Snape was about to close the gap, he felt something wet trickling down his robe. He suddenly straightened, and realized that there must have been something that spilled over the table and onto his robes after he knocked over the candle.

"**Bloody hell**!" Hermione felt hurt, but as Snape whipped out his wand and muttered, 'lumos' she saw that an entire jar of an ingredient had spilled on Snape. _Damn, bloody jar of shit, _she thought angrily. Snape was inwardly cursing himself in every colorful word he knew, _why did I have to go and foul that up? _He thought furiously as he muttered 'Repairo' and the broken jar fixed itself and then he pointed his wand at his robes and said 'Scourgify,' removing the foul liquid. 

            By now Hermione and Snape were well beyond the intimate moment, with both furious it had been interrupted. Snape had already relit the candle, and now they were staring eye to eye with each other with genuine apology written in their features, as if they both thought that they were to blame. Nothing could bring it back again, not tonight at least. They both felt it, but were too scared to think of it as true. Hermione finally broke the pained silence.

"I think we're done for tonight, I will see you tomorrow night at the same time? Good night Severus," without expecting an answer and she turned to leave, and as she began to walk away, she heard a voice brimming with passion come from her Potions teacher, her Professor, Snape, Severus.

"Good night, Hermione."

A/N: Let me hear you all say, 'Awwwwwww!' They were so close, I know, so don't flame me, just give me more doggie treats (reviews) and I will gladly feed you the next chapter.  I also thought a little different POV from Harry and Ron would help make it easier to understand that they do notice a change in Hermione. Also, I fixed the little miswording in Chapter One, thank you to Arallion for spelling out the cause of confusion. Review!!


	6. Chapter 6: Now or Never

A/N: OMG! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!! THIRTEEN REVIEWS IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO! DID I GET A SURPIRSE; THIS IS BETTER THAN MY BIRTHDAY! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! I SAW ALL THE REVIEWS AND HAVE WHIPPED OUT ANOTHER CHAPTER!!  (Ravenously eats dogs biscuits dropped in from everyone)

**Chapter 6: Now or Never **

_We are such stuff as dreams are made on_…Hermione smiled. If only the magical world knew about Shakespeare. Hermione had spent the next few hours until dawn existing in a foggy world of bliss and dream. Severus, the man who had terrorized her from the very beginning of school, came **this close**, to kissing her. She realized that all the events of the past summer and school year all made sense: the strange friendliness, staring at her in class, the pictures, the staircase, the astronomy tower; all lead to spell the words L, O, V, E.

         Harry and Ron had been fast asleep on the couch as she had come into the common room; she just put blankets over them and went up to the girl's dormitory without waking them. _They looked so tired, and I'm glad they didn't see me when I came in, my face would have betrayed me. _She smiled, somehow she didn't seem the least bit scared about what this new day would bring. She moved to get dressed, but realized she had never changed into her nightgown in the first place. Shrugging, she strode downstairs to meet the beautiful morning.

%%%

         Severus had with a flick of his wand cleared the equipment from the astronomy tower, feeling a little disgruntled. He'd come **this close** to kissing a student, one named Hermione Granger.

         But she just wasn't Miss Granger anymore. She was Hermione, radiating in intelligence and knowledge, wavy curls of ecstasy for hair, and two candied hazelnuts for eyes, high cheekbones leading at a too-perfect angle to her two moist, full, blossoming lips that called to him from a cavern in his soul that had been locked up by hate, grief, and loneliness.

         Snape never thought of himself as an extremely emotional man, but right now he had a steady ache in his chest, threatening to eat him alive unless he touched that beautiful body, kissed those lips…Snape shook himself, realizing he had been daydreaming and found it to be seven in the morning. He had not had any sleep that night, but did it really matter anymore? He rose from his office and walked purposefully to the Great Hall, **humming**.

         Anyone who knew any better would have thought there was something really funny going on between Hermione and Snape, most just thought they were both off their rockers for separate reasons, but it was quite the opposite.

         For the rest of the day, Hermione and Severus both in turn were caught daydreaming, knocking over something, doodling absently on paper, gazing off into space, their mind obviously on something else. There was no Potions class for sixth years that day; Hermione would not see Snape until her detention.

         _I would ask him for detention for the rest of the year, just to be with him, _thought Hermione. But unfortunately, this would be too suspicious and Ron and Harry, if anybody would know something was up. She did her homework in a blinding speed, shoving food at dinner, and sprinting up to the Gryffindor Tower to the girls' bathrooms to get herself ready for detention with Snape, or rather, Severus. She put lipstick on, a deep red, with a charm to keep it from rubbing off. Then she used some wizarding gel to put in her hair to make her stubborn wavy hair cascade down her back and shoulders in envious waves. Then she put on her normal school robes, but underneath put on a revealing dark forest green laced top with a ruffled black skirt that went a couple inches above her knees.

         By the time seven o' clock rolled around, Hermione had entered the Potions classroom, wearing what she thought would be a heavenly and irresistible perfume. Snape was waiting for her, and opened the door before she had a chance to knock. He coughed and then led her to the astronomy tower, where, once again, everything was set up.

         Snape had walked very close behind Hermione, taking her in with his eyes. She smelled so good. Snape had the sudden urge to grab her and stop the ache in his body that had persisted him all day, it was worse than anything the Dark Lord could ever do to him. But, his mature, no-nonsense self kicked in, telling him he would have to resist and wait, but it was so **hard**.

         Without a word, they set to work, working very close together, mentally communicating what was needed next in the Wolfsbane Potion. It had suddenly dawned on Hermione that previous night that the potion was for Remus Lupin, for the next month when he was to turn into a werewolf in two weeks.

         The sexual, yes, sexual tension, was absolutely agonizing. They craved affection, something Snape had not really had felt since his own school years, and something Hermione was experiencing for the first time in her life.

         _Must…control….no, no, don't…dammit! _Snape was having a world war inside his own head (if you can imagine that); he kept thinking, _Kiss her, you big bloody coward, she's only a student!  So what? But what will happen if we get caught? You won't, who would guess this? Severus Snape, in love? With Hermione Granger? No one. No one will know, just kiss her for god sake! _He turned to look at the Hermione, and his jaw dropped and clattered onto his lap.

         Hermione had taken off her school robes, apparently too warm in them; to reveal a low top, green (he smiled, a Slytherin color) and a short black skirt that he swore broke the school dress code. She was actually sexy. Severus Snape stood up; it was now or never.

         Hermione turned to find Snape staring into her eyes; she was ready to lose herself in those ebony eyes, full of mystery, and sink into the pools of pleasure seen through the window of his eyes. His tall, comforting figure under those endless layers of robes, which, she suddenly observed, had disappeared, to reveal his true body shape. He was really, well, buff. He bulged with muscle, which sloped over his shoulders, back, and arms, and most likely his legs too. He was wearing a sleeveless tight fitting black tee shirt with black pants; it looked funny to see her Professor in such Muggle-looking clothes, but he was **hot**.

         Snape closed the distance first, deciding he should take the initiative in this situation, being the older man.  He took her face delicately in his hands, cupping his hands under her chin, and placed his forehead against hers, breathing deeply. Hermione lifted her arms to grace around his neck like vines, staring deeply into his eyes. She placed a kiss gently on his cheek, as if daring him to answer her challenge. Then Severus, her teacher, kissed her.

         It was nothing like Hermione had ever experienced. Like a hot, prickling thick liquid, the kiss washed over her body, warmth dripping like red-hot liquid metal pouring down from her lips down her back all the way to her feet. She was filled with such passion she stood on tiptoe, burying her fingers in his hair, which was not greasy at all, but soft and silky. She did not bother breathing, that wasted too much of her energy. They kissed hungrily, barely stopping for air.

         Severus Snape's ache in his chest and body was replaced with numerous explosions of sparks, his heart, surprisingly, beating slowly and rhythmically, his palms sweaty as one wrapped around her waist, the other buried in her hair. A hot, fiery emotion he had not felt ever in his entire life consumed him; lust.  Hermione finally was about to faint from lack of oxygen, so she broke the kiss first. Snape looked at Hermione for the first time since they'd kissed, realizing with a ton of bricks smacking into his face and a million Impediment curses hitting his chest; **he was kissing a student**.

"This, is, insane," whispered Snape, trembling.

"Well, I may remind you that you kissed me first," Hermione said playfully, gently massaging his shoulders with her fingers.

"But…I, we, HERMIONE!" Hermione had reached around and squeezed his ass. "What the bloody fucking hell are you **doing**?" he gasped, turning a deep purple.

"Hmm, let me think about that, oh yeah, fraternizing with my teacher," said Hermione, amused. 

"This isn't funny! Someone must've slipped something into our drinks, no doubt Remus, sick prat, at the Order. A love potion, yes, to make us fall for each other!"

"No, Severus," Hermione whispered, "This kind of love doesn't come from a potion," she stated, her voice brimming with affection.

"So, you're telling me that this is real? That we are kissing by our own will; you are touching me in inappropriate ways-STOPPIT! WHAT DID I JUST SAY??" Hermione had squeezed his ass again, laughing a full-throated laugh, showing all her beautiful white teeth; Snape did not care if they were straight or not.

"Is the Professor going to take fifty points away from poor Hermione? Or give, me, gasp, **more** detention?" taunted Hermione in a singsong voice.

"Ha, ha, no. This **Professor** is going to shut you up by kissing you," and with that, he swept her into another deep kiss, except this time much more gentle and lingering. He stroked a finger along her collarbone, and kissed her neck, and she reached up to kiss his eyelids, Snape running his hands down her back, then, slowly, ever so slowly, began to undo the laces that tied her shirt, with Hermione's fingers gently easing up his black shirt and slipping it off. 

"Damn laces, can't get them undone." Hermione snorted with amusement as she rested her cheek against his bare chest. He kissed the top of her head gently, pulling her close.

         They did not notice the soft padding footsteps of another person slowly climb the stairs to investigate on why the astronomy tower lights were out but voices could still be heard coming from the tower, well past midnight, coming closer to the tower door and the two within.

A/N: Ha! I wrote this immediately after I saw the reviews for chapter 5 (on Wednesday) on a school night! Keep 'em coming! I have risked much in this chapter, and who the hell is going to walk in on Severus and Hermione?? (Heehee, I can feel the power…) Yes, the reason behind the title was revealed, sorry, it's a bit corny, but so what! Wheeeeee!


	7. Chapter 7: Only Time Will Tell

A/N: I hate my computer, there's too much junk in the memory, so it's all screwed up… Bah! I will continue on anyway (at the library…so I might not update the very next day, so be patient with me) To answer one reviewer's question, NO, this fic will not become R, but the last chapter probably toed the line, didn't it? Anyways, no, I don't want to get rid of you just so I can make it all ewwie…Yeah, it's going to calm down a bit and have more humor! (Furry black doggie wags tail experimentally as she looks at the stars and howls at the night filled with laughter, defying the world.)

**Chapter 7: Only Time Will Tell **

_The Astronomy Tower was to be in use by Professor Snape for making his potion and giving Hermione Granger a detention, but what on earth was he doing up there in the dark at midnight? _The person in question was climbing up the stairway to find out exactly what was going on, and pushed the door open with a screeching cry that made Hermione Granger and Severus Snape jump ten feet away from each other in opposite directions. Hermione fell to the stone floor and rolled away, Snape quickly wrapped his robes around his bare topless torso and whirled around to see who it was.

            It was Professor Dumbledore, looking curiously at both of them at a time. First he saw them spring apart as if they were magnets, and Snape frantically trying to cover a bare chest with Hermione retying the laces on her shirt, both of their robes lying on the floor, the wolfsbane potion simmering gently in the cauldron. It was the strangest thing he had seen yet in this school year.

"Dumbledore," coughed Snape.

"Sir," replied Hermione, sitting up.

"What," his eyes twinkling, "may I ask, is going on? I think an **explanation** is in order to tell me why a student is doing a detention at such a late hour and why you, Severus, were seemingly bare-chested when I entered," Dumbledore asked.

"Well, sir, I mean, uh, it's like this-"

"I was warm from making the potion so I took off my shirt, and Hermione is helping me with this wolfsbane potion that requires a necessary brewing until one in the morning, and it is to my discretion how long she remains at a detention," Snape answered with amazing ease considering the embarrassing situation and with him going slightly pink in his cheeks **again** for the first time in 16 years.

"Thank you, Severus," Dumbledore smiled, "You're sure that there is nothing else you want to tell me?"

"N-no Headm-master," stuttered Hermione, going completely red.

"Very well, oh, and Severus, I believe it is wise for me to say that I excuse Hermione from her second week of detention. It seems you already have the potion finished, therefore will not be needing her assistance unless she further crosses you in class, then your jurisdiction is valid," Dumbledore concluded and shut the Astronomy door and walked back to his office.

            Hermione and Severus Snape were motionless and silent for several minutes, the reality dawning on them that they were almost caught. Then Snape broke the silence and walked over to Hermione, pulling her up and embracing her in a gentle hug.

"Severus, "she said softly, "we were almost caught, we were almost caught," she repeated, shivering.

"I know, that's why I say that we should end this, it is too dangerous and we can't risk that again."

"What?" Snape kissed her lips with longing, and then pulled away and swept out of the tower, feeling extremely guilty and sorrowful, and Hermione standing alone with nothing but her remorseful and devastated tears to console her.

%%%

            Albus Dumbledore sat in his office, stroking Fawkes, his phoenix, which was sitting on his lap, thinking hard about what he had just witnessed. He knew that there was a change in Severus Snape, he caught him several times smiling or humming when he thought no one was watching. This was **not** something the ex-Death Eater and Potions Master did, ever, at least not since he graduated from Hogwarts sixteen years ago. Sixteen years. That was a long time, but for Dumbledore, it had passed almost in a blur, until the return of Voldemort had brought everything to an absolute standstill.

            Rising from his chair, with Fawkes jumping hurtfully from his lap to sit on his golden perch, Dumbledore apologized for the sudden interruption. Then he suddenly had an idea. He felt that this strange relationship that he knew was growing between the infamous and loathed Potions Master and the intelligent and supposed know-it-all student Hermione would somehow bring more unity among the students and teachers. However, he, Albus, did not know how deep this friendship was, but the usual hostility between them had vanished.

            He reached for his quill and parchment and began to write.

"Hermione, wait up!" Harry panted as he and Ron ran to catch up with a disheveled Hermione, who had suddenly become extremely depressed and silent, not even raising her hand for anything in any class. Potions seemed to kill her every time she entered the dungeon, tears prickling her eyes threatening to spill each time Snape looked at her.

"Herm, what the hell is going on?" Ron had become immensely upset about Hermione, he seemed to take it personally and seriously that she was acting this way, and was deeply concerned for her in a way Harry had never seen before.

"Ron, nothing, just leave me alone," Hermione said quietly, averting her eyes.

"Come on, we haven't been knocked about by **that** many Bludgers, we know something's wrong," Ron replied, still determined to get her to talk.

"Hermione, we care about you more than you know, you're our best friend, we'll always be there for you; can't you at least tell us anything?" Harry asked. 

"It's not something I can really talk to guys about," Hermione snapped, hurt. Why did they have to care so much? Couldn't they just leave her alone? And she rushed ahead of them to Arithmancy and they had no choice but to continue on to Divination.

"Attention students, I have an important announcement," said Dumbledore as he rose to address the noisy Great Hall, which quieted immediately.

"Let me guess, Voldemort was sighted near the school," Harry said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He was so sick of it all, every year threatened with a different way of dying, no one else had to deal with that, except him.

"**Don't say his name**!" Ron said through clenched teeth.

"Be quiet!" Harry and Ron jumped when Hermione suddenly reprimanded them. Before they could reply, Dumbledore began to speak.

"As you all know, that Christmas season is now upon us, and I have relayed an idea to the rest of the teachers that will further bring us together in these dangerous and trivial times. We will hold an all-school Gift Exchange the day before Christmas vacation, and classes will be canceled that day-" He had to stop midsentence because there was an uproar of screams and shouts of joy from the students. "We will draw names and each and every person, including the teachers, will have to give something special to the receiver of the gift. On the gift-exchange day, the gift-givers will meet up with the person who received their name and give their gifts and spend the day with that person. Any who do not take this seriously or do not spend the whole day with the other person will, at my discretion, remain at school for the Christmas break, and a letter will be spent home to parents and guardians. Thank you. Names will be given to you in a few moments and we will form a line with half the school to pick names."

            Soon half of the school, basically two of the houses, Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, were in a long line to pick names. As each person drew a name, the person they drew would receive a similar piece of paper out of thin air that told them who they were to get gifts for. Harry drew a paper to find, to his utter delight, that he was to be paired with Professor Lupin. Lupin smiled as he received the conjured paper of his own and waved happily at Harry. Ron, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky, and drew none of than Draco Malfoy's name. They exchanged glares of pure hate at each other. Hermione went next, pulling out her own piece of paper, and stared in shock at the name written on it.

Severus Snape, Potions Master  

            Snape's insides flipped as he saw Hermione look at him in absolute shock as she got out of the line to sit with her friends. Giving her a pleading and apologetic look in return, he quickly bowed his head and avoided her eyes.

            _What am I going to do?_ Hermione thought sadly. _He rejected me; he does not want anything to do with me, how will this make a difference? _Snape was thinking as well. _Maybe this way I can make it up to her, _he resolved. _I feel so bad after just leaving her like that, after that night. Maybe now I can win her back, make her understand why I did what I did. _What neither of them could see was a smiling Dumbledore, looking at them both. _Not a coincidence they were paired, I have a feeling that they will benefit from this gift-exchange, even though I enchanted it so they would be paired up, only time will tell…_

**A/N: Really depressing I know, but meaningful to the story. Wow, I can't believe it, 50 REVIEWS! That's 50 DOGGIE TREATS! I will need more so as to have more energy and creativity to write the next chapter! Heehee! Review review review! I love you all! **


	8. Chapter 8: Meaningful Presents?

A/N: Ok, I know, you're waiting for them to get back together, but not before a little spice of humor comes first! (Happily bounds off barking)

Chapter 8: Meaningful Presents? 

            Harry's thoughts were filled with thoughts of Hermione, who had begun to act strangely ever since school started. Depressed, angry, irritable, then calm and carefree. She was like a different person every five minutes. He cared for her a lot; he would probably die to protect her, as would she, and Ron too. However, these deep thoughts were wiped out when Ron dragged him from his comfortable spot in his favorite armchair to drag him into their dormitory.

"What do you want, Ron?" Harry asked impatiently.

"I want to show you something George and Fred sent me." Harry then mentally braced himself; anything they sent them was a new invention for their joke shop.

"Look at this." Lying on his bed was a broomstick. Not just any broomstick, but a Silverwing 3000, one of the top new brooms of Britain. ****

"Ron, what is going on? How could they afford this?"

"They didn't." Now Harry was extremely confused.

"It's a new invention of theirs, it's a called the Hex-A-Holic Broomstick. It's supposed to look like one of the best brooms on the market, and when a person receives it, and rides it, will put a lengthy list of hexes on them.

"Um, is this supposed to be a joke?" Harry asked cautiously.

"The only thing that will allow the hexes to be uplifted is if the person who received the broom does something for the gift-giver. No normal anti-hex spells and counter-spells will stop it."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Let's just say I now have the perfect present for my dear friend Draco."

%%%

            Hermione had spent hours thinking of what to give Severus, uh, Professor Snape. She would like to give him a chance to reincarnate himself as a happier and more emotional, but that was never to happen.

            _What could I possibly get him? I mean, it's not as easy as getting a Muggle-dad a tie or a money clip. What could a Potions-Master want? _It was **so** difficult to think of anything he would enjoy or put to use. Then she had an idea, and she dashed to the library to research.

            Professor Snape, on the other hand, also had difficulty finding something to give Hermione Granger. First, he thought of a book, but she had so many, and she'd probably get dozens from other people. Then he thought of giving her a new quill, but that was too dumb. Candy was another idea he had, but that was too cliché romantic for Severus Snape. So he decided on something and drew out a piece of parchment and began to write.

"No way, Ron, you'd get expelled!" Harry argued. "You are not giving that to Draco, his Dad would kill you, unless he did first!"

"Look, this is my one chance to get back at Malfoy. I get to pick the Hexes from the list and besides, they aren't fatal."

"Ron, it would be extremely hilarious, but seriously-"

"Harry, I'm giving it to him. I just have to convince him to ride it, and then I will be repaid for all that he's done to me. Come on, Harry, you **know** you want me to give it to him. That slimy sinister shithead."

"I know. I do, but I just don't want us to get in trouble."  
"If anything, Dumbledore will congratulate us and laugh right along with everyone else who hates his guts!"

"Okay, okay. We just have to plan this carefully…"

            Days passed quickly, and the anticipated day of the "gift-exchange" was drawing near, and either everyone was nervous or excited, or were dreading it more than anything in the world. For Hermione and Snape, they were feeling all these at once. Both were wondering if the events in the astronomy tower were an indication of something more between them, not to mention the staircase, the drawings, everything. Everything that had happened since the first day of school was swirling around their minds, threatening to spill out in their frustration and confusion. _I am an old, _hopeless_ man, what does she see in me? And what do I see in her? _Snape thought. _Is this really the Professor I have known and despised in my previous years at Hogwarts? Am I crazy? Are we both? _Hermione wondered. The gift-exchange could not come any sooner.

            It also could not come any sooner for Ron Weasley and Harry Potter. Both wanted to see the outcome of Ron's present to Draco, and Harry could not wait to give his present to Remus Lupin, his friend and returned DADA teacher.

            Finally, the fateful Friday came. Everyone was excited, wrapping presents, buying last-minute ones, and all-in-all eager to have Christmas vacation. The usual Christmas feast would take place in the evening, so that the "gift-exchange" would be a daylong event. Once everyone had crowded into the Great Hall and eaten breakfast, Dumbledore rose to speak, and the Hall hushed.

"Good morning, students and teachers. As you all know, this is the special gift-exchange day I proposed. I see that most of you did not bring your presents to the Great Hall, which I am grateful for." Ron and Harry smiled. "Now, I will allow all of you to disperse around the school to meet up with your partner and give them your **meaningful** presents and spend the day together. You are dismissed." And with a unanimous roar, the students leaped from their tables to dash off to various places of Hogwarts to begin the day.

            Draco was waiting for Ron outside the door to the Great Hall, and smirked as Ron walked out with Harry and Lupin behind him.

"Alright, Weasel, let's get this day over as quick as possible. And he shoves something pink into Ron's hands. It was a traditional looking piggy bank, but there was something funny about it that Ron could not figure out.

"To count all your measly savings to save for a new life, **Weasley**," Draco sneered.

"Why thank you, Draco, it's **very **nice," Ron said sarcastically. "My present is behind Hagrid's house, we need to go and get it." Ron stole a secretive wink at Harry and Lupin, wanting them to follow them at a distance.

"Harry, what does Ron have planned for the infamous Draco?" Lupin asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just something that's been coming to him for a **long** time…"

%%%

            Harry gave Lupin his present, which was a photo album he had made himself with pictures of Sirius, with most of them he had found at the Grimmauld Place and in his own album of his parents. Lupin actually cried, and hugged Harry, thanking him for such a nice gift. Then Lupin gave Harry a book called, _The World of an Animagus, A How-to Manual_, literally a thousand pages long, old and tattered, as if it had been thumbed through lovingly too many times.

"Thank you, Lupin, it's great," Harry said, marveling the old book.

"I trust that you will use it well someday. This is the exact one the Marauder's used to become Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," Lupin whispered, so as to not let anyone overhear." Harry smiled and they walked towards Hagrid's hut to find out what was in store for Malfoy.

"What is it that you are giving me, Weasel?" Draco said, a little apprehensively.

"Your gift, prat," Ron shot back, enjoying how worried Malfoy looked.

"Hey, shut it, Weasley. What the-" Ron had held up the Silverwing 3000, and Draco stopped talking midsentence, but quickly recovered his smirk.

"Oh dear, for me? I hope you didn't steal it. But it's so expensive, that you must have." Suddenly he shot Ron a look of suspicion, which was returned by a gaze of pure innocence. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"I thought it would be a worthy gift for an asshole such as yourself."

"Well, Weasel, perhaps I should try it out, this broom will help Slytherin in the Quidditch matches," he shouted back as he climbed up on the broom and took off. Hovering ten feet above Ron's head, he laughed, "It was not wise to give the enemy the advantage, now, was it Weasley?

"Oh no, Draco, I think it was the most wise decision I've ever made." And then there was tremendous bang, and Draco shot up and began spinning uncontrollably on the broom. Many people could see him across the front of the school and all stopped what they were doing to watch. The broom then took Draco around the school, sweeping close to the ground at least sixty miles an hour, and people noticed there were things happening to him and pointed in astonishment, then laughter.

            He had sprouted branches from his head and was growing boils all over his face and arms, his skin turning numerous colors of rainbow. The broom suddenly tipped him upside down; he was hanging just by his feet hooked over the broom, and in the process his robes fell off, and then his pants disappeared to reveal white briefs with little snitches all over them. People on the ground were rolling in tear-stained laughter as the teachers aimlessly tried to shoot spells at him to bring him down, but to no avail. Harry and Ron were dieing in hopeless laughter and even Lupin was smiling.

            Then all hell broke lose when Malfoy's snitch briefs disappeared completely and he began to grow dark, curly hair out of his ears, nostrils, and, well, manly area. People covered their eyes and continued to laugh hysterically as the teachers frantically tried to get Malfoy down, who was still upside down now spiraling downward and upward in rapid speed, flashing everyone in the broom's path. Ron had a smile of grim satisfaction written on his lips and a demeanor of pure delight that looked permanently etched into his face.

            Hermione and Severus Snape had walked uncomfortably out of the castle with their wrapped gifts to find Malfoy naked from the waist down spinning upside down from a broom. Hermione covered her mouth in both shock and amusement, Snape looked absentmindedly at the spinning half-naked Slytherin as if that type of thing happened everyday, he was too distracted to really give any thought to this unfortunate student of his house.

"Hermione, would you like to find someplace private to go?" He whispered in her ear as they crossed the grounds toward the lake behind the crowd pointing and laughing at Draco.

"Yes, somewhere on the other side of the lake, maybe?"

"Perhaps," Snape said softly and they began to make their way around the lake, both wondering what the rest of the day would bring.

A/N: Oh I am evvviill! Isn't that funny? It's a long chapter, but amusing if I do say so myself. Hey, can anyone tell me what the names of chapters 2 and 5 have in common? I challenge you! Anyone? Guess when you give me a doggie treat! J Also, the Silverwing 3000 broom name and the invented Hex-A-Holic Broomstick I made up, and same with the Animagus book that Lupin gave to Harry. (hint of a future fanfic…)


	9. Chapter 9: The Mirrors, The Key

A/N: Hello! Irena Direvko was the absolute closest to the location of where the titles of chapter 2 and 5 came from.  "Out Brief Candle" comes from the Shakespeare play 'Macbeth'. "Look to Liking" comes from another Shakespeare play, 'Romeo and Juliet'. Thank you everyone for guessing! Now, onward with the next chapter! What will happen to poor Draco (who cares?) and more importantly, Severus and Hermione? (Note: More intimate scenes, and some bad swearing, so watch out)

Chapter 9: The Mirrors, The Key

            Severus found a nice secluded spot on the other side of the lake, behind a large rock, where they could have privacy. _Oh dammit, why does she have to look so beautiful? _He thought in mock anger, staring intently at Hermione.

"Um, Professor, here's your present," said Hermione brusquely and practically shoved it into his arms.

"Am I just 'Professor' now?" Severus asked.

"Well, like you said, it is too dangerous and we should end this and we can't risk it again," she shot back, spitting out the bolded words.

"Hermione…"

"Just open your present, Professor!" Hermione snapped, and turned away, but Severus caught tears spilling down her face. He had no choice to open it.

            _I never knew he was so gentle_, Hermione thought as she watched him out of the corner of her eye delicately open the tissue paper.

            Severus Snape knew that Hermione was watching him, but he did not really mind. He eyes now stared at the box he had unwrapped. He slowly picked it up in his hands and lifted the top to reveal two mirrors, roughly the size of compact mirrors. The mirrors were surrounded by engraved silver carved into the vines of roses. He turned the mirror over to the back and he read: Bound by love, unity, and friendship, two lovers will never be alone, for in the mirrors, one may call the other and they will answer.  Both mirrors had this written on them. Snape's mind was ablaze with emotional thoughts. _She forgives me, and she must love me! Why else would the mirrors say such things? _

            Hermione now had turned to watch Severus's face as he looked at the mirrors. A passion shone in his eyes that Hermione had never seen; tears still trickled absentmindedly down her cheeks. He gently put the mirrors back in the box, and two steps towards her and with considerable ease lifted her off the ground into his arms and pulled her into a deep kiss. Hermione was shocked; this kiss exceeded their last in the astronomy tower, it was filled with what seemed tenfold more passion, and, love. The word seemed to run like a hot liquid from his lips to hers, an unspoken word, but brimming with warmth and devotion. Breaking away from the kiss, Severus walked over and sat down on the cool grass with his back against the rock, holding Hermione tightly, as if she would be taken away from him.

"Hermione, I, didn't mean those things, I mean, I only said them because I thought that you just had a simple crush on me, and that it would go away if I restrained my own emotions. But those mirrors…"

"Severus, I had to research about those mirrors, there are a pair out of only ten others in the world."

"How did you get them?"

"Let's just say I have my connections. It would really spoil it to tell you exactly how I got them, so don't ask again." What could Snape do? Hermione was a stubborn, but intelligent woman, she would never tell him.

"Well, are you interested in what I have for you?" Severus asked softly, running a long finger down her cheek, sending a shiver down her spine. Without waiting for an answer, he reached for something in his robes and, taking her hand, placed it in her hand and closed her fingers around it. Hermione felt a chain, was it a necklace of some sort? She then opened her fingers and stared at the object sitting in the palm of her hand.

            It was a silver chain and a pendant. The chain was simple, not to distract you from the pendant. The pendant was a key, made also of silver, with the end of the key set with emeralds. Then she noticed tiny writing on the handle of the key, squinting at it, she read: For you, my love. Newborn tears coursed down her cheeks, but not in sadness, but in joy and happiness. Severus wrapped his arms around her and held her close, making her feel warm and safe.

"What may I ask, does this key open?" Hermione whispered softly in Severus's ear, even though she already knew the answer.

"This key opens the door to my private chambers," he answered, and took the necklace and fastened it around her neck. The necklace rested gently against her chest, and Snape pulled her close into another kiss.

"Severus…"

"Hmm? What is it?"

"You're squishing me." Snorting with an unmistakable laughter, Severus kissed her neck playfully and set her down next to him.

"That better?"

"Drastically so." And with that she pressed her lips to her teacher's, wrapping her arms around his neck and letting his tongue pass her lips, and returned the passionate kiss with renewed energy, wondering vaguely for only a moment why they were snogging in broad daylight behind a rock. _Oh well. _

%%%

            Meanwhile, far away from Severus's and Hermione's intimate side of the lake, Malfoy was still spinning around in his previous state.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on?!" shouted a very angry Professor McGonagall at the crowd of students. But before anyone could answer, the upside-down Malfoy careened over in the direction of the Dark Forest and out of sight. Ron tore after him, calling behind him, "I think I saw where he went, I'll go after him!"

            Malfoy had landed painfully in a tree, and the broom violently shot him straight into the ground and Draco lay there and did not get up. He was still half-naked, rainbow colored and covered in boils, with branches on his head, and four-foot long trails of hair from his nose, ears, and well, you know the other location. Ron found him first, as he had intended. Malfoy looked up at Ron with all the hatred he could muster. Ron simply laughed and pulled Malfoy off the ground with amazing strength and stared at him for a moment before speaking quietly to him.

"Well, Draco, did you enjoy that? You always wanted to be the center of attention, now you got your wish," he smiled wickedly at Malfoy.

"You…filthy, good-for-nothing, disgusting fucker!" Draco growled at him.

"Hmm, I would think that in your present state you should not be insulting me," said Ron, shaking Draco like a rag doll. "The only way the hexes will come off you is if you do something for me."

"And what might that be?" Draco hissed angrily.

"You will announce in every class after break that you are an ass, and you will have to kiss Professor Trelawney and write secret admirer notes to her professing your love to her. Then, you will not tell anyone how this happened either, or you will go through similar circumstances again until you do. Do I make myself clear?" Ron was having the time of his life. Draco was silent, staring in absolute fury at Ron.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh, I would, I would. Well, what do you need to say now, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes."

"That's a good boy!" Ron laughed and released him. The broom suddenly exploded ten feet away and the splintered ashes fell to the ground, and in the course of a few minutes, Draco was back to normal.

"Why don't you come with me, Draco? I daresay after that horrible ordeal you will need to go to the hospital wing." And with a suffocating iron grip around Draco's shoulders, he had no choice but to go with him, a hate unlike any he had ever felt burning in his eyes.

A/N: Hey! Interesting chapter eh? To answer one reviewer's question, requests for what should happen to HG and SS are welcomed, but I might not necessarily use them, and as for "sex scenes", these are under my discretion and this fic will stay PG-13. Now review!


	10. Chapter 10: Games and Firewhiskey

**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews! Since all of you seem to love the intimacy, here's another chapter that has more of it! Yay!**

**Julia/Potter-I agree with you. Cannot imagine J.K. Rowling putting that in her books, not like her, more like her crazy fans! Rain Callaway-I'm so glad that my fanfic is better than others you've read, but isn't that my intention? Drunken Landlord-Thank you for your suggestions, I might possibly use them in future chapters; they could bring much hilarity! Hopeagainsttime-I know, but what can you do? Errors are always a problem that I am too lazy to go and fix. ;) Irina Derevko-There, I spelled it right! Yes, I am also glad I do not idolize the guy, he is so eww! I also assume by your name that you love the show Alias? I love that show too! Cassandra the Evil-I know, Ron is a bit evil, but what can you expect? I'm sorry you now further dislike him because of my fanfic…**

**Chapter 10: Games and Firewhiskey**

Impulsively, Severus took the box out of his desk drawer and took out one of the mirrors that she had given him. Hermione kept the other. He breathed onto the mirror and whispered: 'Show me my love, wherever she may be' and the mirror's surface swirled and until an image of Hermione sleeping in her bed came up, hazy at first, then as clear as if he was looking through a window.

"Hermione," he whispered. No answer. Then, slowly, he watched her turn over in sleep and reach in her drawer next to her bed and pull out her mirror. Snape was staring greedily at her back; she was so graceful, smooth skinned, beautiful.

"Severus?" Hermione whispered back, looking into her mirror. _What did he want?_

"Hermione, please, come to me. I need you." Why these words were coming out his mouth, he did not know, but he needed her, craved her presence, her warm body, everything about her he needed and would not survive without it.

"Severus, it's the middle of the night," Hermione whispered, smiling as she fingered something around her neck, Snape guessed it must be the key on the necklace he gave her earlier.

"I know, all the more reason. Use the key. Steal Potter's Invisibility Cloak if you feel the need. I will be waiting," and with that he breathed on the mirror again and said, 'My message is done' and put it back in its box. He was quivering in anticipation, experiencing a craving for her, and he had to quench it before he went mad with hunger.

Hermione stole carefully out of the Gryffindor Tower, taking the key and the Invisibility Cloak. She hadn't bothered changing out of her nightgown. She snickered, she had a feeling Severus wouldn't mind at all, based on the mood he was in when he called upon her with the mirror. She thought it would be very entertaining if she teased him, did not let him try anything until she let him. She was stubborn, and liked to be in control. So did Severus.

Reaching the door that Snape had described to her earlier in the day on the other side of the lake, she carefully withdrew the key from her nightgown and on its chain put it in the lock. With a soft click, the door swung open, to reveal a spiral staircase that leads downward. Stepping cautiously, she walked down the staircase and found herself in a huge chamber lit dimly with scented black and green candles. The atmosphere of the air put her in a dreamlike stupor, and then she saw Severus.

He was sitting in a black leather armchair, reading. _God, he is so handsome, even when he's sitting reading a book! _She thought breathlessly. Severus refused to acknowledge her presence, so she took the time to gaze at him. He was wearing a silk black robe that revealed his muscular chest, his legs crossed gracefully in a pair of silk black pajama bottoms. His hair fell loosely around his face, not at all greasy, but soft looking and silky. It was more than she could bear, but she fought temptation and waited for him to look at her.

Snape could feel her eyes on him, scanning his body. He smiled behind his book, he knew he was in charge, he had her attention. He decided to wait a few moments before he would actually look at her; he was enjoying this.

_Two can play this game_, Hermione thought furiously. And she began to unbutton her nightgown slowly, and then Snape looked up, staring at her at first in surprise, then hunger, watching her hands slowly, button by button undoing her night gown. Severus rose and dropped the book with a bang on the ground, taking slow steps forward towards Hermione, putting his hands at her waist, staring deeply into her eyes. When he bent down to kiss her, she quickly spun around with her back to him, not wanting to give in just yet. She walked towards his bookcase and began peering at the titles of the leather bound books.

Severus knew not why she did this; she wanted him to touch her, to kiss her as much as he did. It had become a game, in which they were tempting each other, but not giving in, a passionate battle of the minds. He watched her as she pretended to look at the books. _Damn women, why must they have such unbearable and seducing powers over men? _He stepped forward until he was behind her, his body pressing into hers, and his fingers gently took the collar of her nightgown and slipped off her nightgown. Hermione stiffened in shock; she did not expect Severus, (her Potions teacher for god sake), to do such a thing. Both of them were breathing hard, so close they could feel each other's hearts beating loudly in their chests.

Hermione turned around and suddenly found Severus's lips meeting hers in a desperate kiss. Sighing with submission, she let his tongue explore her mouth and he let her as well. They were locked for long moments, stopping only for quick gasping breaths before surging together, craving each other, wanting their company, the warmth of each other's bodies. An hour later found Hermione lying in Severus's large comfortable bed, with Severus's arm around her shoulders, gently caressing her neck, shoulder, and collarbone with his lips.

"Severus, I keep thinking we're making a serious mistake," Hermione mumbled softly, her hand resting gently on his hard-muscled chest.

"I'm thirsty." Hermione snorted in laughter as Severus turned over and took out a bottle from the shelf on the head of his bed, uncorked it, and took two goblets and filled them. Drinking from his, he offered her the other goblet, and surprisingly, she took it. Hermione sipped the fiery liquid, realizing Severus must have thought her question completely unnecessary and had not answered for that reason. Suddenly, she realized that she was drinking firewhiskey. But it was good, and Severus continued to fill his goblet as well as her own.

Hermione had never been drunk before, but this must be what it felt like. She kept thinking crazy thoughts, feeling frisky, mischievous, and sedated, as if someone had drugged her. Severus, on the other hand, was more controlled, he was an adult, well used to the effects of firewhiskey, but even he could not withstand the amount they continued to drink. The world had gone hazy…

%%%

Hermione groaned, her head was spinning as she tried to open her heavy-lidded eyes. She felt herself rising and falling with Severus's chest as he in breathed. She lovingly kissed his neck and ran her fingers through his soft hair, and Severus, in his sleep, gave a soft groan of pleasure.

She froze realization suddenly dawning on her, they were both stark naked, in the same bed! However, she was too exhausted to fully comprehend why so she lay there, now too dizzy to move, even though this was the last place she thought she would be. One look at three empty bottles lying next to them on the bed only made things worse.

Severus had fully woken up now, wrapping his arms around her waist and staring up at her with a dazed look on his face before his lips creased into an unmistakable smile that made her feel even more weak.

"Good morning," he whispered, kissing her cheek.

"Severus," Hermione pleaded.

"Hmm?" _That was the best night of my life. What is she worried about now?_

"What happened?" Suddenly, Hermione looked down at Snape in horror, and jumped off the bed, frantically searching for her nightgown, and, more importantly, her goddamn underwear and bra! Severus sat up, confused.

"What's wrong?"

"Severus, I'm trying not to scream right now, just let me get my clothes on please!" she said through clenched teeth. She had found her nightgown and underwear, and Severus impishly held out her bra, which she snatched away from him and hurriedly put it on.

"What's the big deal?" Severus was still confused.

"Don't you realize what we've done Severus?!" She yelled.

"Quiet down! Do you want the whole castle to hear?" he said, appalled.

"Severus, please, tell me I'm imagining it," Hermione whimpered.

"Imagining what?"

"Is it true?" she said again, desperate.

"You're speaking in riddles," Severus said, even more confused.

"The firewhiskey, last night, being drunk, it all leads to only one thing," Hermione whispered, clearly frightened.

"What?"

"You idiot! Goddammit, we had sex!"

**A/N: Now, it was suggested, not described, so it's still PG-13. I live in America, (for those of you who might live in England or wherever) and in the U.S. a lot more "interesting" content is accepted as PG-13. The classification of ratings might be different where you live. Anyways, those of you who were waiting for this can now be satisfied! And now, review!!!!**


	11. Chapter 11: Pulling Strings

**A/N: I now have over 100 reviews! YIPPEE! I'm glad you all liked the last chapter; it took me about six hours total to write, just because it was so complex and difficult. However, I was successful! Bwhahahaha! - Furry black doggie chases tail after o.d.ing on doggie treats! - Heehee! ;)**

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**Chapter 11: Pulling Strings **

"We…had…sex, don't you get it?!" Hermione rasped, standing there, staring at her teacher, her superior, and her love in shock, horror, betrayal, and confusion. Severus Snape was floored, not really knowing what to say that would make the situation any better.

True, they were extremely drunk, but he thought it would have happened sooner or later. But did she think that that was the only reason they had sex? Did she think that their love and their relationship was just a joke? He was an older man, much more experienced with this kind of thing. Although, he had to admit he had done anything this drastic with the opposite sex for 16 years, since his school years. _Better with me than with one of her stupid guy friends, right?_ He mentally slapped himself, what the bloody hell was he thinking???

"Severus, I need to go pack my trunk, I'm supposed to go home for Christmas," Hermione said formally, and walked out of Snape's private chamber, leaving a very confused and naked Professor staring after her, wondering if he'd messed their entire relationship up for good.

_This can't be happening to me, not to Hermione Granger, not to me…Bloody professor! Why did I have to fall in love with you?? Why? _Thoroughly embarrassed, she rushed up to the Gryffindor Tower while everyone was at breakfast and changed into her school clothes, realizing with every minute passing that she was no longer a virgin. She'd manage to lose it to her goddamn Potions professor at age 16! What was happening to her? She should have never gone down to see Severus, how did she know that he was taking advantage of her? Was he? Possibly, but why would he do such a thing after all they'd been through? She couldn't truly believe it, but the idea was eating away at her heart, questioning his devotion, faithfulness, and respect of her.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, she stepped onto the Hogwarts Express with her friends to spend the break with her parents, without Severus Snape.

%%%

For the next several days after returning from an uneventful Christmas at home, not a word was said between Hermione and her Potions Master, she did not even bother to raise her hand in class, saying nothing and refusing to meet Snape's eyes, even when he spoke directly to her. Harry and Ron, of course, were completely oblivious to the whole thing and were extremely concerned (aren't they always?) for her, and she would not tell them what was wrong. _Why would I? _She thought bitterly. _They'd want to murder Snape, and then the whole school would find out. That's the last thing I want. _

"Hermione Granger, please stay behind after class," the Potions Master said professionally as all the other sixth years scrambled out of his class to lunch.

Hermione sullenly put away her books and supplies and walked up to his desk. Snape looked up from his papers he was grading, grabbed Hermione and pulled her into his office and shut the door.

"Hermione, please, talk to me. I can't stand seeing you so depressed."

"Me? Depressed? I wonder why," Hermione's tone was bitter, Snape had never seen this side of Hermione, and he didn't think she possessed it.

"Please, Hermione, if it's about that night-"

"It's all about that night! How do I know you've been taking advantage of me this entire time? How do I know you purposefully got me drunk just so I'd bed with you? How do I know all this is a lie?" She finally looked straight at Professor Snape, no, not at him, right through him; her gaze seemed to penetrate to his very soul, searching, demanding answers.

"Hermione," he placed his hands gently on her shoulders, "I would never take advantage of you, and deep down you know that. I don't know what I was thinking when I pulled out the firewhiskey, you have to understand, I am somewhat an alcoholic. I depend on that drink to ease my pain or thoughts when I am confused or excited. And my honest opinion is that we would have gone to bed eventually, and I promise I did not want it to happen that way. Please, can you forgive me?" Black ebony eyes gazed into brown hazelnut ones, eye for eye, mind-to-mind, soul to soul, watching the other for acceptance. They did not speak for several moments. Then, Hermione took a deep breath and managed a small half-smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"You know, it would have been romantic if I could remember it." To her delight, Severus's lips creased into another one of his secret smiles.

"So you forgive me?" He pressed.

"Alright, you old man, I suppose I forgive you," Hermione laughed as Severus swept her into an embrace and kissed her.

"Old man, is that the best insult you could think of?" He smirked.

"Well, I could call you a greasy git, but that's not very nice, is it? At least the latter is a true statement." Her eyes now were twinkling with amusement and laughter.

"You cheeky little girl, I am not that old!" tweaking her nose playfully. "Now get to lunch before I kiss you again." And with that, Hermione grabbed her book bag and dashed out of his office, blowing him a kiss as she exited the classroom.

%%%

"What on earth is happening to Hermione?" Ron asked Harry in the Great Hall.

"I have no idea," Harry answered, quite puzzled. Just then, Hermione walks into the Great Hall, with a smile on her face!

"Hi you guys! What's for lunch, I'm starving," Hermione said, smiling ear to ear as she helped herself to the food placed at table, leaving Harry and Ron staring at her blankly in utter disbelief.

"HERMIONE, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Ron just couldn't take it any longer; he didn't care if people stared, he didn't care if he was overreacting, his other best friend was acting like a lunatic.

"Ron, please, shut up!" Hermione hissed, jerking him back down, for he was standing by the time he was finished with his sentence.

"Hermione, we're just really curious to know why you're acting the way you are," Harry said gently, he was always the calmer of the two.

"It's nothing, I promise," looking at their skeptical faces. "Really!" she said, exasperated. It was getting harder and harder to keep such a large and dangerous secret from them. _What am I going to do? _She thought.

"Ah, Severus, it is nice to see your smiling face," Dumbledore said wryly, staring at an extremely out-of-character Snape sitting down to lunch. His smile quickly disappeared into the usual glare, not realizing outwardly he looked so happy.

"Good morning, Albus," growled Snape. "It's great to see your disgustingly happy face at lunchtime, it just makes my day," he said sarcastically, sipping his punch.

"Why so cheerful, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes on the Potions Master.

"Cheerful? Hardly know the word," Snape growled again, clearly caught off guard in his happy mood that he was in until Dumbledore started talking to him.

"Well, is there any new interest in your life right now, Severus?" Snape choked on his punch, coughing and spluttering for several minutes. _Does he know? Is it that obvious? Dammit, what is wrong with that man! Telepathic old fraud…_Once he stopped coughing, he glared through watered eyes at the Headmaster.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, his voice raspy from choking.

"Oh, I think you do, Severus, it just is an old feeling for you, don't worry, age has nothing to do with love," Smash! The Potions professor was now thoroughly freaked, dropping his glass on the table, causing it to smash into little pieces spraying punch on everyone around him at the teacher's table.

"Oops, quite clumsy of you, Severus. Not to worry, I'll clean up. _Scourgify, Repairo!_" little Professor Flitwick supplied and the punch vanished and the goblet was repaired. Professor Snape's knuckles were white from clenching his fists, his lips were tightly drawn, and his eyes were darting towards someone in the Great Hall, of course Dumbledore knew who it was, none of the other teachers noticed. He was looking at Hermione Granger, which did not surprise him in the least. He smiled. The gift-exchange day idea had worked, because, for obvious reasons noticed only by him, they were now more than just a typical, respecting student-teacher relationship. Much more, in fact.

"I…must…go, ah, prepare for my next class," said the tight-lipped potions teacher to no one in particular, and swept out of the Great Hall.

Hermione had noticed Severus choking and dropping his goblet, she was not sure why, but see had a faint idea. Possibly, the Headmaster knew something about them and was pulling Severus's strings to get him to admit something. Thankfully, he had exited the hall without drawing any attention to himself, giving her a panicked look as he walked by.

"Hermione, what are you staring at?" Ron said, waving a hand in front of Hermione's face.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing, Ron." _Shit. What are we going to do?_

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**A/N: Okay, I love your reviews, and the only thing I can say against the pregnancy idea is that I've read another fic that has that, in which Hermione is raped by Draco, so her becoming pregnant during school does not offer a very good image for me, but mark my words, it will happen! (Just not in that way) And now, the obvious action after reading this chapter: REVIEW!**


	12. Chapter 12: No More Secrets

**A/N: Okay, interesting situation for Hermione and Severus. What will happen next? (Oh, and don't forget Malfoy's promise to Ron, i.e. Chapter 9) ****You all wonder where I get all these ideas???? I dunno, I personally thought this fic would rot for eternity after the first chapter…Well, now I'm happy all you ragamuffins decided to read my lovely story! **

**-------------------------**

**Chapter 12: No More Secrets**

"Ron, we have got to find out what the hell is going on," Harry said determinedly.

"Right behind you, there, ole pal," replied on with enthusiasm.

"Now, I have a funny feeling it has to do with Snape."

"With that greasy git? How can you be sure?"

"Well, she really only acts weird around him and in his class. I've watched her carefully ever since this summer at Grimmauld Place."

"You mean it started that early??"

"Honestly Ron, you are so unobservant and oblivious."

"Hey! I resent that!" They were now walking down the corridor to their next class, coincidently, Advanced Potions. As they took seats next to each other in the second row, Hermione took her now usual place in front of the classroom, a row in front of them. They continued to converse in hushed voices so Hermione would not hear.

"Okay. We need to think of a plan to unearth her secret. So how do you suggest we do it, Harry?"

"Trying to get her to admit whatever it is hasn't worked. So, we could follow her and see where she goes on her strange night strolls."

"Yeah, sometimes she uses your Invisibility Cloak. I've seen her sneak into the common room carrying it and put it on once she gets outside."

"Well, here's what we'll do. Tonight, I'll hide my Invisibility Cloak where she can't find, so she'll go without it. Then, we'll take the cloak and follow her until we figure out what's going on."

"Brilliant idea! So when should we-" Ron was cut off when Snape entered the classroom and slammed the door with a bang.

"You will be continuing your potion from the previous few days. Further directions are on the board. Begin. I want no unnecessary talking." And with that, the class quietly began taking their potions and putting them back in their cauldrons to continue the brewing. Harry and Ron decided it would be safe if they did not talk very much, to not give Snape an opportunity to take off points or give detention.

Hermione, of course, was working alone, her potion the proper blood red color. Harry and Ron were a couple steps behind her, so their potion was not as red as Hermione's, but they were doing everything correctly. Harry wanted to be an Auror, so he had to pass this class. Ron also thought that career path would be "awesome" so he was concentrating just as much as Harry. Harry noticed Snape staring in his direction, but then realized it wasn't him, but Hermione he was gazing at. She looked up at Snape as well, their eyes locked and Harry could have sworn Hermione winked and Snape actually smiled! He was now inwardly glad they were going to follow Hermione that night.

Ron was watching them as well, and noticed Snape walked past Hermione and drop something in her lap. Her hand closed around it as Snape walked around the classroom to inspect potions. She then carefully looked at the thing, a note, under the table. Then she crumpled it into a little ball and put it in her pocket. Ron instinctively took out his wand, and from under the desk pointed it at Hermione's pocket. _Accio Note!_ And it zoomed quietly from her pocket to Harry's hand under the desk.

"Good thinking, Ron," Harry whispered. They opened the paper and read: _Meet me in the usual place tonight at midnight. I will be waiting for you. Yours truly, Severus. _

"Well, now we know where she's going tonight."

"Mr. Weasley, why aren't you concentrating on your potion?" Snape drawled, making Harry and Ron both jump. Ron crammed the note in his robes.

"He's calculating the amount of multiple turns needed, 12 times a minute, because I'm not very good at mental math." Harry to save the day.

"I always knew your intelligence was lower than most," Snape said and walked back to his desk, as he passed running a finger through Hermione's hair.

"We have got to find out what 's going on," Harry breathed.

%%%

Later that night, at approximately a quarter till midnight, Hermione slipped out of the portrait hole, cursing herself for not finding the cloak, and stole away silently down the corridor, unaware of her two best friends creeping along at a distance behind her under the invisibility cloak. As she walked along, she almost ran into Peeves, but thankfully he went down a different corridor. Harry and Ron treaded carefully as they watched Hermione come up to a door and draw out something out of her robes. It was a key of some sort, for she put it the keyhole and with a soft click, it opened and she went inside. Harry dived to put a hand in front of the door to keep it from locking them out.

"Nice save," breathed Ron.

"Thanks." And they began to go down the spiral dark steps, Hermione not to far in front of them.

Hermione had had a funny feeling she was being followed or watched, but it left her as she entered Snape's private chambers to find Severus waiting, as always, in his favorite armchair, reading.

"I'm glad you could make it, Hermione," Severus greeted her, his voice husky. Harry and Ron looked at each other in surprise as they placed themselves behind a couch under the cloak to watch.

"Oh, Severus, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Hermione answered, giving Snape a hug that if Filch saw, he'd go crazy.

"What the hell?" Ron hissed.

"Shhh!" Harry elbowed Ron in the side. Snape had placed his hands around waist, and then he suddenly leaned forward and brought Hermione into a deep kiss, tongue and all. Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and Snape's hands went further down…

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!!" Harry had seen enough without puking. He and Ron threw off the cloak and rushed at Hermione and Snape. Harry grabbed Hermione around the waist and yanked her away while Ron tackled Snape, pinning him to the ground. Hermione's face was stark white, and then it turned bright red in fury.

"HARRY, RON, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" She yelled, trying to wrench herself from Harry's strong grip.

"Oh, nothing, Hermione. We'd like to why you're KISSING THIS HEARTLESS DISGUSTING PRAT!" Ron roared. "OR PERHAPS HE'D LIKE TO EXPLAIN WHY HE'S MOLESTING YOU!" Ron was very red in his ears, a signal that he was either very angry.

"Harry, please, try to understand. Get Ron off Severus!" Hermione hissed, not trying to hold her temper.

"Mione, why are you calling him Severus?" Harry asked warily, still holding Hermione.

"Because that's his proper first name!" Hermione answered, still struggling fretfully under Harry's strong arms.

"Ronald Weasley, get off of me or you will be expelled!" grunted Snape, and Ron got off of him, still furious.

"Since when have you been on first name terms, Severus?" Ron spat, not bothering to respect the meanest teacher at Hogwarts.

"For quite some time, Weasley, if you bothered to notice," replied.

"Severus, please, they need to hear it from me," Hermione cautioned Snape, who shrugged his shoulders and picked up his book again, still glaring with even more hatred (if that was possible) at Harry and Ron.

"Ron, Harry, can I trust you to calm down and listen rationally to what I have to say?" Hermione said quietly, looking at their reddened faces.

"I guess so," Harry said reluctantly.

"Ron?" Ron did not say anything; he only nodded his head solemnly. Harry let go of Hermione.

"Alright. Ron, Harry, for the past month or so Severus and I have been in a relationship." The silence that followed made it possible to hear a pin drop, and Harry and Ron stared openmouthed at their best friend and hated professor, mouths working, but no words coming out.

"We had feelings for each other possibly since summer at the Grimmauld Place, but did not really voice them until later when school started. We knew that it was dangerous, but we could not hide our true feelings for long once I had given her two weeks of detention for no reason except that I wanted to have an excuse to spend time with her. Yes, we have kissed, as any couple would, and we have gone to bed once, so our relationship is quite serious in nature," Snape explained, putting an arm around Hermione, another smile that Ron and Harry had never seen before playing over his lips.

"So," Ron said carefully, and all waited for a blow-up, " you mean to tell us that you've been kissing, sleeping together, and all this other shit for at least a month?" When he got no answer, he continued. "We did not know about this for ELEVEN GODDAMN CHAPTERS!?!?" He turned to the computer screen to peer at the cross-eyed fanfic reader on the other side. "DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS THE ENTIRE TIME? Stop, don't say a word. I don't even want to know."

"It's true, Ron. You have to accept it, please," Hermione said, looking earnestly at both of them. Harry shrugged; this was all too much.

"I'm happy for you, Hermione. And, um, for you too, Professor," he added hastily.

"Ron?" Ron had said nothing, only staring blankly ahead at both of them, clearly not believing or wanting to. He walked over, took the invisibility cloak, took Hermione's hand, and started dragging her toward the staircase.

"Harry, come on. Let's get out of here, help me with Hermione," and Harry reluctantly followed, and Ron through the cloak over all three of them and they began to lead Hermione away.

"Wait, you guys, let go of me! LET GO!" Hermione yelled.

"Hermione, shut up. Please," Harry said apologetically.

"Severus…" Hermione looked back at the professor that she had come to love, he blew her a kiss, and she could have sworn she saw a single tear grace his cheek as her friends dragged her up the stairs back to the Gryffindor Tower.

%%% ****

**A/N: The silence that followed was so tense and foreboding it could be cut with a knife…**

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Professor Trelawney had found another note tucked under her crystal ball that night. Curious, she opened the silk red ribbon that was tied around it and unfolded the letter and read:

_To my dear Professor Trelawney,_

_ I have not seen you for but a day, but it seems like eternity. I wanted to further confess my undying love to you in the only way I know how, through this letter and this red rose _(Sybil eyes traveled over the red rose resting next to the crystal ball) _as a token of my affection. I must know what your true feelings are for me, but then that would betray who I am. I am watching you always, admiring your beautiful perfumed hair, your dreamy captivating eyes, and your graceful body as you sweep around the tower. It is enough to make me want you, so desperately, that it is an ache in my chest and body that cannot be satisfied unless you answer my letters. Please discover unanimously who I am and leave me a note telling where I should meet you, my dear, sweet love, Sybil. _

_My undying love to you always,_

_Your Secret Admirer_

_P.S. I am a sixth year. __P.S.S. I am a sexy sixth year. _

Trelawney's hands trembled as she closed the letter before clutching it to her breasts, sighing. Who was it? This was the third letter she had received in the past week. The first gave her a clue that he was a student. The second told her he was in Slytherin. And this third told he was a sixth year, a sexy one at that. That narrowed the possible secret admirers considerably. **(Cough cough, just like Malfoy promised to Ron, the love notes are coming!) **She just had to examine all the sixth year Slytherins in her next Divination class to find out who it was.


	13. Chapter 13: So Many Things

**A/N: Ok, I feel depressed and dark right now, so thus the chapter will be such. I know it's supposed to have humor, but remember: have I ever failed you before? Never! --Furry black doggie howls at the moon--**

**Chapter 13: So Many Things**

Severus had sunk into a dim abyss of true depression that he had never before ever experienced. His eyes lost their luster, their brightness since their relationship had blossomed since summer. He still managed to keep up his personal hygiene, keeping his hair soft and clean, not greasy, another change Hermione had brought into his world. He had appreciated life more than tenfold once Hermione showed him a side of the world he had not traveled before, love. Compassion, trust, companionship, honesty, laughter, joy. So many things had shattered his previous world; he was not just an Ex-Death Eater, hated by all, hating all back. He was a real human being, happy to live and live well, all because of Hermione. She had reached out and pulled him out from his self-worthless, unmoving and unemotional world he had cocooned himself in, shutting out everything.

They could not be together, the world had told them so, crowning them in thorns and twisting their hearts into unrecognizable broken, shattered pieces. Seeing Harry and Ron that night had convinced him of that. He had actually cried that night, not sobbing like a baby, but simply tears that simply coursed down his cheeks, wetting the pages of his book he had been struggling to read.

Severus was not meant to live a happy life. He was always at the service of others, helping others but neglecting his own soul. He was always ridiculed and hated. Always. Was there ever a moment when he could trust those around him? No. Was there ever a moment when no one felt the desire to kill him? No.

Everyone thought he was incapable of being a normal person, no one allowed him to be normal. He wondered what it was like to be normal. There was no hope, he would leave and no one would miss him…he doubted even Hermione would miss him now if he died…

Hermione had refused to listen to Harry and Ron. Mostly it was Harry; Ron did not speak to her, not even to Harry, except to ask questions about homework or such things. Hermione had refused to listen, but now, she had actually let the words penetrate into her mind, letting them play over and over again in her mind, visions of what might be, and what was. It was hopeless. Everyday now, it seemed that the bond between them had been cut, they were unable to speak to each other, even just the sight of each other threatened to make her start sobbing with grief and pain. A dull film had covered Hermione's eyes, she too was shutting out the world, and the one thing that always was bright was now cold and dead. Her lips were always a straight line of unfeeling emotion. She would talk, but her tone would be inept and her voice would be strained. She was constantly sick, not eating much, feeling miserable. At night she would crawl into bed and curl up into a ball and soak her nightgown with her tears. Dark circles began to form under her eyes; she barely slept. She had become a senseless body going through the motions; she wondered if what she was experiencing was any different from a life after the Dementor's Kiss.

Nothing could help her now. She was always called a bossy know-it-all, used only for talents, and then thrown out after she was no use to anybody. Her life had become a steady decline of grief. Hermione had never felt so horrible in her entire life. She started believing that she was worthless, that she was nothing to Severus, nothing. She had only disgraced him, humiliated him. Her inner flame was dying, her spirit, her soul, was denying even itself the will to live. The will and determination she once had was gone.

%%%

It was Divination, the class Harry and Ron hated the most, even more than Potions. It had nothing to do with training or becoming an Auror, but it was the one class that they would rather keep than switch to Arithmancy or some other class. As they took their seats, Ron made eye contact with Draco, who only glared back before a look of terror crossed his pale features. Ron needed to have laugh, and what the perfect opportunity than to have Draco fulfill the final steps of his promise.

Professor Trelawney was overcome with excitement, her usual dreamy, falsified voice gone as she nervously stuttered through her introduction to the day's lesson.

"Now, uh, class, p-please open your b-books to page 212. Study, the, uh, chapter and begin p-practicing the, um, adv-vanced crystal ball gazing depicted, uh, there. You m-may begin." She gave a sigh of relief. _That was hard._ Now, while they were all reading, she could examine all the Slytherins and try to find who was her Secret Admirer.

She immediately dismissed Crabbe and Goyle. They were pathetic and stupid lumps uncapable of anything. She went down the list in her head, throwing away each name, for none of them could possible fathom such deep feelings and words and put them to paper. But then she got to Draco Malfoy, and she could not bring herself to deny that he could be the one. She studied him. She had to admit, if he thought of himself as sexy, she agreed with him, which caused her to blush. She hoped no one saw that. She reached into her pocket, closing her hand around the now six letters from the admirer, all in the same writing. She began to walk around the room to pretend to check everyone's progress. When she got to Draco's table, she peered over his shoulder to look at his handwriting. She gasped. _It is the same hand!_

Draco felt her presence behind him, but he chose to ignore it for the time being. Sweat drops began to bead upon his brow, his hands clammy, his heart pounding. He was about to do the unthinkable. He stole another hateful look at Weasley, who at this point was watching, silently urging him to pull through, a triumphant smile on his lips. She was still behind him, her perfumed presence washing over him, the smell making him queasy. He mentally was gaining courage. _Calm yourself, just turn around and do it. But don't make it too quick, otherwise Weasley might feel it unsatisfactory, and make you do it again._ He shuddered._ Just pretend she's really hot or something, then it won't be so bad._ He thought for a fleeting moment, did he need to pretend?

He whirled around and in one deft movement, stood up, grabbed her face in his hands and shoved their lips together, thinking after a moment, _Oh my god, she's actually a good kisser…_Sybil was shocked, but she warmed up to the kiss and hungrily reached into his mouth with her tongue, caressing his teeth, Malfoy gave a whimper; Trelawney would not let go of him. The class watched in stunned silence, either to horrified to look away or too sickened to even believe what they were seeing. Only Harry and Ron found humor in the situation, but then when they did not break apart, Harry began to feel sick. Even Ron was thinking, _Oh my god, I just wanted to be a quick funny thing. This is turning a tad disgusting. _

Draco could barely breathe. Once she had shoved her tongue passed his lips, he had no choice but to follow. She would not let go, and then again, a tiny voice in his head kept saying, _hold on, hold on,_ but his mind was saying _NO! NO! Stop! _Sybil Trelawney realized this must be the Secret Admirer, but for some reason he wouldn't let go. Finally, Sybil brought herself to break away. Draco stared at her, his breathing ragged.

"Detention, Draco. Seven o' clock, do not be late." She turned to the stunned students. "Class dismissed."

**A/N: Probably a little too much info for the kiss thing. I assumed that the shock of it all would not make it too funny at first, but after the incident Malfoy will be in hot water and humor will find its way in…Depressing and weird, but review my friends! (Hope I didn't totally sick you guys out with the Draco and Trelawney thing. Maybe you might find it funny, in your own disturbed little minds…)**


	14. Chapter 14: Road Not Traveled

**A/N: Hey, yeah, I know, not up to my humor standards in the last chapter, but it will come I swear! Warning: Suicide attempts, so be aware…**

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**Chapter 14: Road Not Traveled **

Draco Malfoy walked to the Divination classroom with great dread. What did she plan to do to him after he had kissed her? He had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that it was not going to be a normal detention. He hoped it would end quickly so he could get away from her as fast as possible. It had spread around the school like wildfire that Draco had willingly kissed Trelawney and made out with her right in front of the class, which Draco denied. Rumors spread that they had made out and were just about to take off their clothes when the class yanked them apart. Some rumors said Draco had a major erection in class because of her. Others said Trelawney was secretly a stripper and did a performance for the class and Draco couldn't contain himself, or that they were rolling on the floor all over each other and rubbing and pushing each other in inappropriate ways. Ron made up half of them, who thought this would be the final stroke of revenge against Malfoy. The other half were made up and fantasized by disturbed fanfic readers.

As he climbed the spiral staircase to the tower and climbed the ladder to the trapdoor, his hands kept slipping because they were clammy and sweaty. He feebly reached up and knocked on the trapdoor. Silence. Then it opened suddenly and Sybil Trelawney's face looked down on him, a malicious and mischievous glint in her eye. Her hand snaked out and yanked Draco into the tower. Draco gave a screech of fright, as a ripping sound was heard followed by Malfoy's now torn shirt flutter from the closed trapdoor to the foot of the staircase. Draco's friends did not ever recall seeing him coming back before they went to bed at 11 o' clock curfew…

%%%

Hermione's feet dangled in midair as she sat on the balcony one hundred feet above the ground. Thoughts raced in her mind like a dribbling poison threatening to consume her. _I humiliated him; I am worthless, if I jump, no one will notice…But what if I don't die when I hit the ground? Maybe I'll just get sent to the hospital, I won't bother anyone there. _She looked over the side; it was well past midnight, so it was pitch black, she couldn't see the ground. She looked at the paper and quill in her hands and began to write her goodbye letter to everyone, tears coursing down her cheeks.

Severus searched frantically through his private chambers for his knife he always kept for Death Eater meetings from the past. Finally he found it in its leather protector sheath. He withdrew the knife and stared at the gleaming blade. _Soon all this will be over…_He walked over to the window that overlooked one side of the castle. He could see the Gryffindor and Slytherin parts of the castle. Then he noticed a small shape on one of the lower balconies. Squinting harder, he looked closer at the hunched shape. Flashes of memories flickered through his mind rapidly as he thought in horror, _'Shit! Hermione!'_ and tore out of his chambers at a dead run for the grounds underneath the balcony, the knife lying forgotten on the floor where he dropped it, its previous gleam dulled.

Now standing on the rail of the balcony, Hermione snuck a glance down into the bleak darkness, which threatened to swallow her. _Okay. I'm going to do it; just jump and everything will be fine. _And she took what she thought would be her last deep breath of her life and jumped. Her body weighted by gravity plunged down quickly, but suddenly she was slowed in her fall by a wave of green light. She looked down. There was Severus Snape, her love, saving her, in what appeared to be his boxers. Despite everything, Hermione smiled. Sweat beaded down his forehead mixed with salty tears as he struggled to slow her fall. _Goddammit, I'm not losing you! _She was ten feet above him; his plan was to gently catch her. Suddenly his sweaty hand dropped his wand, and Hermione dropped the remainder and toppled right onto Snape.

Hermione remembered floating and then dropping and falling on something soft, pliable, and warm. Her hand came into contact with the bare flesh of Severus's chest. She groaned, she swore his elbow had jabbed her right in the stomach. Both had had the wind knocked out of them, but soon recovered. Severus sat up; Hermione was sprawled over his stomach, shaking. He gently turned her over to cradle her in his lap. She now cried, her sobs racking her sides as she clung to Severus. He stroked her hair in comfort, for he did not know what to say. He had almost killed himself, but had just in time seen the one person he cared for most attempting the same thing.

"Severus?" Hermione whispered, after her sobbing stopped, she hiccupped.

"Hermione, why did you want to leave this world?" He asked softly.

"I thought I had just humiliated you, ruined you, and that everyone else was just using me, and that nobody cared, not even my closest friends. I was scared, Severus. And when you didn't come to me, I assumed you thought I was worthless too." Severus stared at Hermione; _so young and beautiful, why does she want to waste this life?_

"Hermione, I did not think that. I was under my own depression, thinking I had completely ashamed you in front of your friends, leading you on a road not traveled. I thought I shouldn't be progressing this romance just to benefit my own deprived soul. Hermione, I wanted to kill myself too, I was just about to when I saw you sitting on the balcony. I suddenly wanted to live, to live so I could be with you and I did not want to lose you." Another tear graced his cheek. Hermione was quiet, staring silently at her Professor, Severus, whom she adored with all her heart. To hear him say this made her want to live a hundred years just to be with him. He gently wiped her tears with his robes; she wrapped her arms around him in a thankful embrace.

They sat on the wet grass in their quiet embrace, each thinking of what they had almost wasted. They could hear the gentle crickets singing their unique twittering song, the hoot of a curious owl, and the rustle of a mouse in the tall grass. Besides that everything was quiet, the school silent, and they seemed to be existing in their own world that they now wanted to desperately be apart of. Hermione had a future ahead of her; she brimmed with potential in her brilliance and talent, so could go very far in life. Severus was a surviving ex-Death Eater, well into his teaching career; he still had a prolonged and fulfilling life ahead of him. Of course, he had no doubt in his mind; _this is the woman I am going to marry and spend the rest of my life with._ He gently kissed her cheek.

"Hermione, I love you," his voice barely a whisper that blew past her ears and entered her mind to drive it to a screeching stop in her previous thoughts, she heard it, just barely.

"What?" she said, not believing her ears or her mind. Snape drew in a deep breath, he had never told anyone he loved them, not even once, and now she forced him to say it again. Of course he never had really loved anyone else.

"I love you," he repeated slowly and clearly looking into her eyes.

"You mean it?"

"Of course I do."

"I love you too, Severus." There. She'd said it. The man that was the shining beacon of her world now knew that she loved him. Severus, on the other hand, was shocked. He was half convinced she would not be mature or serious enough to pronounce such a claim to him, Severus Snape, her Potions Professor. Hermione suddenly smiled, her eyes now sparkled with laughter and happiness.

"What?"

"The only thing I'll remember about this night is me being saved by you in your boxers." Snape actually laughed, a deep-throated musical laugh that was slightly rusty from being out of practice. "Couldn't you have caught me in something a little more respectable? Why would you want to die in just your boxers?? You're daft, you know that?" Hermione was now laughing too, but Severus stopped her by closing his lips over hers in a passionate kiss. It was a short one, for they pulled apart to simply look at each other in a new light.

"Severus, will you love me always?"

"That's a stupid and irrelevant question."

"Will you still answer it though?" Severus sighed; she would not shut up unless he answered her complicated question.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"I dunno. Maybe you'll find someone your age, more mature, more beautiful, from a wealthy family, a Pureblood." That last word hit him hard; he did not want to drag that into their relationship.

"You are beautiful, and I don't care if you're not wealthy, and not being a Pureblood doesn't matter to me."

"Did it use to?" Memories of his childhood and years at Hogwarts popped up in his mind, he could not believe he had been so prejudiced, but then, with his manipulative father and his teachings, he'd grown up convinced all Muggle-borns were scum, dirt beneath his feet. But being with Hermione, knowing Hermione, loving Hermione, had changed all that.   
"Maybe. Possibly. It was what my father and mother expected of me when I was younger." Hermione kissed his neck gently.

"Why don't we get inside, I'm freezing and all wet," Hermione suggested, shivering against Severus.

"Uh, sure." And they walked back to the castle. Hermione would have liked Severus to hold her hand, or put his arm around her, but she knew he was a subtle man, not given to such unnecessary body contact and pointless things as that. She didn't mind, it only made her respect him more. And so she followed her beloved Potions Master back into the castle, happy that he had saved her, that they had saved each other, and all her doubts were vanquished after hearing the simple phrase 'I love you.'

**A/N: Okay, major reviews here! I want my inbox to explode from all the reviews. Is it not what you asked? I had originally wanted HP to save SS and RW to save HG, and for them to patch up their relationships and in another chapter have HG and SS get back together. However, you eager and impatient fanfic reviewers wanted more humor and wanted it them back together sooner than that, so this is what I give you. REVIEW!!!! Barks the insane happy furry black doggie as she bounds off in search of the doggie treats (reviews) that she lives on!**


	15. Chapter 15: Changed For Good

**A/N: Okay, I will answer reviewers' questions and clear up some stuff. **

**Brittany Malfoy-You know, a sequel was an idea I had too! Who wants a sequel??? In you next review, specify if you want one. It would probably be one in which they are married…VOTE IF YOU WANT A SEQUEL! **

**Aindel S. Druida-Yeah, I know it's a bit overdone, the suicide thing, but the boxer thing is not! So there! That was my brilliant hilarious idea…****J******

**Wacko the Sane (and everyone else)-Hermione in this fic will NOT become pregnant, that will be in the sequel if you guys want one.**

**Unknown-Hitokiri-Yes, doggie treats WILL fall from the sky if I have anything to say about it…**

**Thank you one and all…I love you and your doggie treats! Sorry it took longer than usual, but I've been somewhat busy and this is quite a long chapter, and it took me a long time to figure out how to go about it. Very hard chapter to write… **

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**Chapter 15: Changed For Good**

Minerva McGonagall was not about to trust instincts, for they are an unsure way of finding out about things. However, being a proper and no-nonsense person, she was very observant, especially of her peers, the teachers. All were well, but there was one that was not his usual self: Professor Severus Snape. Their teacher rivalry, most of it having to do with their rival houses, always made it difficult for them to communicate without one of them challenging the other. Now, though, for some unexplainable reason that she was yet to learn, Snape was a changed man. Truly, a changed man. His idiosyncrasies of yester years almost obliterated. He still had the famous drawling speech when teaching, and he still found ways to deduct points, a cover-up to hide the change in him. Even so, he now would take points from his own house; he was much harsher and strict with his Slytherins, pushing them to perfectionism and success. He also became more sociable and showed up for more meals in the Great Hall. He definitely was a changed man, and Minerva was determined to find the cause.

The cause in question, Hermione Granger, leaped out of her hole of depression to blossom into the person she used to be, even better in fact. She became more patient, trusting, considerate and no longer picked out rows with Ron, who now had gotten over hearing the news of her relationship with Snape. So far only Harry, Ron, and Dumbledore (maybe) knew of their relationship, and Severus wanted to keep it that way. Hermione continued to sneak at night to his chamber to visit. They would spend hours together, mostly at night, reading books from Severus's shelves and talking over Potions homework or just potions in general. Severus found Hermione, as always, a brilliant person, more of a colleague than student that he could converse with that actually understood him. Hermione enjoyed discussing many different topics with Severus, he knew so much about the wizarding world and answered her questions in full detail. All in all they became a secret happy couple, reserving their emotions and intimacy when they were alone, it was too dangerous to be so open around the school.

"Severus? Are you listening to me?" McGonagall said sharply, tapping Professor Snape on the shoulder. They were eating breakfast in the Great Hall and Severus Snape had begun to stare off into space right in the middle of a conversation with the Transfiguration teacher.

"What? Oh, sorry Minerva," Snape said apologetically. Minerva blinked several times; he was really different.

"I wanted to remind you of the staff meeting today," Minerva continued.

"Oh, why, yes. It's at lunch hour in Dumbledore's office, isn't it?"

"Indeed," Minerva said, looking suspiciously at Snape. Severus shifted uncomfortably.

"I have to, um, prepare for my first class," and he walked quickly out of the Great Hall, Minerva's eyes trained on his retreating back.

Severus had just rounded the corner off to the right of the door when Hermione grabbed the front of his robes and yanked him towards her and pressed her lips against his. Severus pushed her against the wall and wrapped his arms around her. Then he caught himself.

"Hermione, not here!" he hissed. Hermione tried to reach up and kiss him again, but he stopped her lips with his forefinger.

"Severus…" Hermione mumbled, pouting, kissing his neck. Severus ran his fingers through her sleek wavy hair while his eyes darted around to make sure no one was passing by. "Can I see you at lunch?" she said hopefully, kissing him again.

"Hermione, I have a staff meeting." Hermione put on the best puppy face she could muster, Severus could not help but smile. "I can't Hermione, maybe later." Severus pulled her into another kiss, his tongue eagerly passing her lips. Breathing deeply, Hermione sighed.

"Why later? I can't wait that long, Sev-" Severus had sprang away like she was on fire, and Hermione began to pretend to rummage through her book bag as Draco Malfoy walked by. He looked from one to the other, clearly confused. Had he seen what he thought he'd seen? He had not seen much, only for a split second they were up against the wall and the next they sprang away and then acted as if nothing was wrong. Draco was not daft, he knew something funny was going on between the know-it-all Mudblood Granger and his Potions Professor. In other words, he wasn't blind or deaf.

But at the moment he was a little too preoccupied to really take heed of them. He had been thinking about his detention with Trelawney, which had been haunting him for a week. He shuddered. He wasn't sure what happened, but after a while the incense candles made him pass out and he woke up naked with nothing but a blanket around him and Professor Trelawney excusing him from his detention at one in the morning, a large smile on her face. His mind had been replaying what he could remember over and over again in his mind, and the only conclusion he could come to was that Trelawney had taken advantage of him. Draco recoiled involuntarily in horror and disgust and began to walk to Potions, with Hermione not far behind him. He slowed so as to let her come up beside him before speaking to her.

"Granger, what are you doing with Professor Snape?" Hermione continued to walk forward with a static expression on her face, her lips tight.

"Nothing, Draco Malfoy. Why should you be concerned about what I'm doing?" she replied finally, her voice tainted with contempt.

"Something funny is going on between you two, I'm not that stupid."

"Well you must be just stupid enough to think there is anything going on!" Hermione snapped and took her usual seat in front of Harry and Ron, leaving Draco no choice but to sit down with much more on his mind than before.

%%%

Severus Snape begrudgingly strolled up to Dumbledore's office for the staff meeting, not wanting to have anything to do with the kind. He hated the staff meetings with a burning fiery passion. **(Heehee)** When he reached the gargoyles, he cursed inwardly.

"Cockroach Clusters! Chocolate Frogs? Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans! Fizzing Whizbees?" At the last candy the gargoyles sprang away to reveal the spiral staircase. _One day Voldemort will discover the nature of Dumbledore's passwords, break into his office and kill him,_ he thought, shaking his head. It was too easy to guess, but once the staircase came to a stop in Dumbledore's office, the thought fell from his mind like dropping a heavy book.

All the other teachers were all seated in a semi-circle, staring pointedly at him, with Dumbledore in the middle, eyes sparkling.

"Ah, Severus, glad you could join us!" he greeted Severus brightly. Severus only grunted, a little worried about the stares he was getting.

"Now, we must discuss a situation that has just recently come up that this school has not faced, well, ever. Minerva, would you be so kind as to explain the situation to the teachers so we may discuss what to do about it," Dumbledore announced, and turned to McGonagall.

"Thank you, Albus. Now, I, just recently, was informed by a student, who shall remain anonymous, that they suspected a student-teacher relationship in this school." Several teachers gasped. Severus Snape suddenly became tight-lipped and sat bolt upright. Trelawney, who had unwillingly come down from the Divination Tower, took a sharp intake of breath and her eyes grew even wider (if that was possible) behind her magnifying spectacles. Minerva continued on. "Now, this school has always had to deal with misconduct and relationships between students, but never has a teacher been involved with a student ever since the day this school opened, back to the original founders. Never recorded in any books on Hogwarts, and has been the pride of the school to say that no personnel has fraternized with any students."

"Thank you, Minerva. Now, I'd like to open this situation for a friendly discussion," Dumbledore said, and sat back, his eyes searching.

"Well, I think it is preposterous!" Professor Sprout said angrily. "It is an insult to this school. Which teacher is it?" she demanded.

"That information is foreclosed to protect the well-being of the teacher, should they be present," Dumbledore said, looking directly at Severus. Severus gulped, and his knuckles were turning white from gripping his chair arms. Trelawney's eyes darted around in fear.

"Well, what should be done about it?" Professor Trelawney asked, her voice shaking as she looked desperately at her colleagues faces.

"They should be caught and punished!" Professor McGonagall shouted, rising from her chair. "These students are children! Children, for Merlin's sake!" Trelawney quailed, but it went unnoticed. Snape coughed, his cheeks turning slightly pink.

"Really, Minerva, do you think we need to shame the student and humiliate the teacher in such a harsh way?" Professor Flitwick squeaked. "I believe that there is no rules or offenses for a student-teacher relationship ever mentioned in our rule books."

"That's because it has never happened before!" Minerva shouted, her cheeked flushed.

"Minerva, please sit back down until you can clam down," Dumbledore suggested gently. Minerva sat back down huffily.

"Do they know what year the student is in? Because if they are over 16 then it not as large of an offense," Madame Hooch pressed.

"I tell yer, it doesn't matter 'ow old they are! It's ridiculous!" Hagrid interjected, speaking for the first time in the meeting.

"Really, Hagrid? I have a friend of mine who is 53 and has a wife that is 31! Age difference really has nothing to do with it," Professor Vector said, his voice raised slightly.

"But were they together during their school years?!" Professor Flitwick chipped in, his high-pitched voice screeching.

"I say we use a bit of Veritaserum on each teacher and ask each teacher this pressing question," Professor Lupin said, and everyone turned for the first time to look at Remus, clad in his usual shaggy and faded gray robes. Snape went white with fright; Trelawney began to sway.

"Excellent idea, Remus! That's the best point I've heard so far!" McGonagall said evenly, finally controlling her temper.

"Well, Severus? Do you have any in your stores?" Professor Sprout said, looking hard at Snape. All eyes looked upon the Potions Master. Fighting for control, Severus stood up.

"Yes. I…have a full bottle," he managed to choke out. He turned to go, knowing the end was near.

"Oh, don't worry Severus. I have one in my drawer, no need to make you do an extra trip," Dumbledore said, reaching into a drawer of his desk and withdrawing a bottle of the unmistakable truth serum. "Do you think one drop shall be enough?" _Thud! _Everyone spun around, Professor Trelawney had fainted, falling backwards and capsizing her chair. Several teachers rushed to help her, while Dumbledore ordered a line and handed the bottle to Severus, a grave look on his face.

"They want to know, Severus." Snape only nodded his head. First he put a drop on Professor McGonagall's tongue.

"Are you involved with a student?" he said, trying to keep his voice even.

"No," answered Minerva, her voice monotone and static, side effects from the Veritaserum. Severus went to the next teacher, and the next, all saying in the same voice: No. _This doesn't even need to be done. I should just start packing now…_ When he got to Professor Trelawney, she broke out into racking sobs and fell to her knees in a nervous breakdown and slumped to the ground again.

"Poor thing, obviously this is too upsetting for her. We can always try again when she has collected herself. Bring her to the Infirmary," Dumbledore said, and Professor Flitwick stepped forward and squeaked 'Mobilicorpus!' and Trelawney's unconscious body rose and he directed her with his wand in the direction of the hospital wing. Severus made as if to leave, but McGonagall took hold of his arm.

"Severus, we all had to, and so should you." Severus searched Dumbledore's face in a desperate attempt to ask for mercy.

"Ah, come on, Snape. Everyone 'ad to!" Hagrid boomed. Minerva motioned for Snape to open his mouth. He finally opened his mouth and a drop of Veritaserum passed his lips. Severus closed his eyes, his vision failing him. After several moments, Minerva then finally asked him the question, the truth serum now working.

"Are you involved with a student?" Severus looked over at Dumbledore, who was looking sadly at him in pity. He could not lie. There was no turning back. They would be discovered. He would be fired; Hermione would be disgraced. He drew a deep breath before he finally spoke.

"Yes."


	16. Chapter 16: Sooner or Later

**A/N: The last chapter was meant to have some humor, Severus knows it's him and Trelawney thinks someone's figured out what she did to Draco. I'm assuming you are all big girls and boys and was able to figure it out…Anyway, thanks for all your reviews! What will happen to Severus and Hermione now???? (Gasp)**

**&&&&&&&&&**

**Chapter 16: Sooner or Later**

"Severus?" McGonagall gasped, backing away disbelieving. "You?" Severus needn't worry of the Veritaserum; it had worn off.

"I cannot lie under the truth serum, Minerva, so yes, it's true." It was over, but he was not going to make it any worse by saying any more.

"Who is it?!" Minerva shouted. All the other teachers were equally curious: who in the hell could possibly be with Severus Snape, who was the most hated and feared teacher of the entire school, an unemotional man who rarely smiled or was friendly at all until recently.

"Really Minerva, I think that's enough," Dumbledore said, putting himself between Minerva and Severus, who sat down in the nearest chair and stared at the floor. McGonagall was furious.

"He cannot go unpunished!" she said vehemently.

"Actually, he can, and he will," Dumbledore said quietly. Hearing this, McGonagall slumped her shoulders, as if defeated by those words.

"Severus, I suggest you take the rest of the day off," Dumbledore said, placing a hand on Severus's shoulder, Snape shrugged it off and only nodded solemnly. He rose and began to exit quickly, knowing that even though Dumbledore said he was not going to be punished, there was most likely a rule or law that he had broken that he'd have to answer to. He walked quickly to his private chambers and shut himself inside for the rest of the day, glad he would not have to face any stupid first and third years that afternoon. All the other teachers began to leave for their next classes that would start shortly. Soon Dumbledore's office was empty except for Albus and Minerva.

"Albus, there must be a rule or law of some kind that he broke!" McGonagall stated exasperatedly, regaining her calm, somewhat.

"I cannot tell you, Minerva. I will have to contact the Ministry, I was not sure if I should at first."

"You mean to tell me you knew all along?! Before that student tipped us off?"

"Minerva, I knew before the school year even started."

"Well then why did you not do a thing about it?"

"I did not know the seriousness of it for a long time. I knew there were feelings between the student and Severus, but they were not together, I should say, until later in the year. Minerva, that man has been alone almost all his life. I could not take something so special away from him."

"Well, what are you going to do if the Ministry decides to get involved?" Dumbledore's reply was immediate.

"I will help Severus fight them, help him in any way I can to get him and the student out of this unscathed."

"Albus, why won't you tell me who the student is?"

"I'm sorry, Minerva, but I have to protect the girl, so I cannot tell you?"

"Is she young?"

"She is in her sixth year, so she is sixteen, a responsible age."

"Surely the Ministry will find nothing wrong with that?"

"Not if Cornelius Fudge has anything to say about it." Minerva watched Dumbledore's face, as his eyes grew hard and flinty.

%%%

Severus slept badly that night, thinking he should have contacted Hermione to tell her that they were discovered, but if they found out he had let her into his chambers, he could get in even more trouble. His mind was in a whirl of desperate and defeated thoughts. _What if Hermione never forgives me? What if she calls the whole thing off? What if… _The 'ifs' kept running around through his head until he fell into a troubled and nightmarish sleep.

When he awoke the next morning, he rolled over. _Thank god, it's Saturday, no teaching, no annoying kids, no-_ his eyes fell upon a cake sitting on his coffee table. It looked homemade, two-layered with only a small amount of frosting on top, and some kind of nut sprinkled on it as well. _What's this cake doing here?_ He wondered as he sat up in bed, resting his hands on his knees.

"Really, Severus, don't you know when your own goddamn birthday is?" Severus leaped off the bed like he had just been pinched and turned around to find Hermione looking intently at him as she leaned on his bedpost.

"Hermione!" he said, clearly surprised, and then confused. "Today is my birthday?"

"Of course it is! February, the twenty-sixth?" Hermione took his hand and led him over to the coffee table and shoved him playfully onto the couch, of which he noticed sat several packages wrapped up in silver, green, or black. He stared from the packages to the cake to Hermione and back again to the cake.

"It's a rum and almond cake. I made it myself. I thought that you probably wouldn't like the overly sweet frosting cakes." She smiled. Severus always loved it when she smiled. _She won't be smiling once she knows what I did. _ "Let's have some cake." Hermione then took out two plates and distributed a slice to Severus and then one to herself. Severus brought a forkful of cake to his mouth and sighed.

"This is delicious." Hermione beamed, her cheeks flushing. Severus and Hermione then ate their cake in an intimate silence, enjoying one another's company.

"Now open your presents!" Hermione took one and put it in Severus's lap.

"Who are all these from?"

"Well, there's a few from people at the Order and then two from me."

"I suppose you had to blackmail them to get them to get me something?"

"They were surprised when I asked. Didn't know you celebrated your birthday."

"I don't." Hermione laughed, and Severus could not help but give her one of his genuine smiles. He began to open the first package, as he glanced at the little card that said: To Severus, from Remus Lupin. It was a new quill that wrote grades and point deductions automatically. There was a note tied to it from Lupin: _Thought you would enjoy another new toy to use to torment your students. _Severus snorted. _Ha ha. _

The next ones were from the Weasleys, Mad-Eye Moody, even Tonks. The Weasleys was, surprisingly, a leather-bound book protector tooled with silver. Mad-Eye Moody's was a brand new and improved Sneakoscope, so typical. Tonks's present was an assortment of candy and a bag of stress-relief bath salts. Then he got to Hermione's present. The box was long and slender. Once he opened it, he examined it closely.

She had outdone herself, as she had with the mirrors at Christmas. It looked like a staff of some sort, about two and a half feet long, made of richly polished mahogany wood. On top was a serpent's head, made of silver, and its silver body wrapped around the staff. In its mouth between its fangs rested a crystal orb about the size of a small strawberry. He fingered it lovingly in his hands and looked up at Hermione's face, which now glistened with tears.

"Where did you get it, Hermione? It's wonderful, what does it do?"

"Severus, the crystal orb is able to store spells, so in case you lose your wand when, um, if you lose your wand you can use it as a last resort. It also can provide a shield of magic to, well, shield you from certain hexes, and…curses, as long as you are holding it." Her voice had dropped to a whisper by the time she finished. Severus looked at her, searching her face. He saw fear, devotion, concern, and love.

"Do you expect something to happen to me?"

"Let's just admit that you have somewhat of an occupational hazard." He now understood. His dangerous spying for the Order. She was worried about him. No one had ever worried about him before. He put the staff to the side and stood up, looking at Hermione in the eyes.

"Hermione, I can't thank you enough-"

"Don't speak." He stopped, and then took a deep breath and looked sadly into her eyes.

"They know, Hermione." Her eyes fluttered and she raised her eyebrows. She looked at him with a shadowy expression on her face.

"Who?"

"The teachers." She stepped away from him and sat down hard on the couch. He sat down next to her.

"Someone tipped off McGonagall that a teacher and student were, well, together. Eventually all of us had to admit under Veritaserum if we were the teacher. I could not lie Hermione," he said fleetingly as she looked away to concentrate hard on the wall. "They do not know it's you."

"But the student who betrayed us does," she said, her lips barely moving. "Who told?"

"I don't know. McGonagall wouldn't say." Hermione sat there, saying nothing, wondering who could have figured it out. Severus uncertainly put an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. She laid her cheek against his shoulder.

"I know who it is," she said after awhile.

"What? The student that told?"

"Malfoy." Severus stiffened.

"How?" _Conniving little twit. Just like his father, lying bastard. _

"He said something to me yesterday. Said he knew something was going on between us. Of course I blew him off, trying to look convincing. Guess we didn't hide it very well, Severus."

"They would probably have found out sooner or later." Hermione sighed.

"I suppose you're right." There was a silence for a while as they thought about what the last three months had brought. _I love him, but I don't want him to get punished because of me_, Hermione thought sadly. _This is so dangerous for her. How could this have happened? How did they fall in love?_ Then he remembered something she had said to him after their first kiss. 'Love doesn't come from a potion.' She was right, now that he thought about it. He had thought it was some trick someone had played on them, but it wasn't. It was real, as real as the changing seasons, the smell of her hair, the warmth of her body next to him, the brown intelligent and beautiful eyes he so adored. Real.

"Hermione, we might get in serious trouble because of this with the school, or the Ministry might do something about it, about us."

"I don't care." Her cinnamon eyes stared deeply into his, determination etched permanently into her features. "I love you, and no one can or ever will take that away from me." He felt so bad now for ratting on them. Why did the world have to turn against him, against them?

"Hermione, I am sorry."

"For what? You have nothing to be sorry about. I will stay with you no matter what. Come on, let's have some more cake." Severus was relieved; she didn't hate him for getting them discovered. It only made her more determined to stay with him. He smiled to himself as he accepted another piece of her yummy cake from Hermione, the love of his life.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&**

**A/N: Hope you all are satisfied after that cliffhanger. Heehee, I am evil, but I certainly keep you hooked on my fic, don't I? REVIEW! (The Grim, the furry black doggie spins around in a circle and lays down to take a well-deserved nap after writing another good chapter.)**


	17. Chapter 17: Bitter Sweet

**A/N: Wow…over 200 reviews…(falls over backward and dies) I still cannot believe that I started this fic, going against everything, attempting the unheard of, defying criticism. I believe I can now say I am thoroughly obsessed with this fanfic. I check my email everyday for reviews, I write up new chapters in a frenzy the day after just posting another…**

**This is my little commemoration to all the readers out there… **

**Some reviewers have claimed this the "best HG/SS fic on the site", well that makes me blush profusely. Some hate what I have done to Draco, (too bad, he's not the main focus of the story, just a hilarious side note). Some can only gasp in fright and astonishment. Some reviewers die and rise up again after submitting to fits of uncontrollable laughter. Some have stumbled onto this fic randomly from where it is now. Others have followed it from the very beginning, when I thought it was going to rot for eternity. I love you all. This is probably the best success I will ever have on this site, and I thank you all for believing in me! (The furry black doggie you all know about bends a leg and gracefully bows to her readers, tail wagging, ears perked, and a insane smile showing all her teeth)**

**Chapter 17: Bitter Sweet**

Hermione was probably the best thing that had ever happened to Severus. She reminded him of Lily Potter when they were at school, understanding him and accepting him for who he was, defending from the taunts of the Marauders. Except Hermione was in love with him, Severus Snape. He smiled, but quickly erased it; those smiles were reserved only for Hermione.

Dumbledore had informed him that the Ministry had stated most definitely that they were going to make this a legal case, and that it was well beyond the school's jurisdiction. He would have to get spokesperson (for us that would be a lawyer) to argue his case with him. Dumbledore suggested himself, and Severus knew that he would rather have Dumbledore help him than some nincompoop that couldn't tie his shoes or tell the time of day to help him. Cornelius himself wanted to be involved in the entire thing, which really made Dumbledore angry. They were going to make this into a high court case if they could.

Hermione was coping quite well considering the state they were in. The school, no surprise, had found out, and Draco blabbed that she was the student involved with Professor Snape, so now she was taunted and made fun of at every turn. Students in each and every year dropped snide comments about it in Potions loud enough for Severus to hear. The only ones that stood by Hermione and Severus were Harry, Ron, Ginny, Professor Remus Lupin, Dumbledore, and a few others. McGonagall had always favored Hermione above all her other students, now took the fact that she was with Snape as a personal insult. The rude comments, slurs and insults, Severus knew, deeply affected Hermione, but she held her head high regardless and outwardly shook off the comments and jokes. Severus was used to it, so it was not so hard; Hermione was not. She was now the target of the school; Harry Potter seemingly ceased to exist. Despite everything, he was proud of her, but always was there a tiny fear she would back out and leave him if it became too much for her.

%%%

He sat in his chambers one Friday evening in late March, with the rain battering endlessly outside, reading, of course. Then, he gave up trying to read and crawled into bed and attempted to fall asleep. He managed to doze lightly, not really entering the sphere of deep sleep.

Suddenly a warm body slipped under the covers with him. His eyes fluttered open and he absentmindedly put an arm around the warm petite body that unmistakably was Hermione Granger. She was mumbling incoherent words into his hair, her warm breath caressing his neck. He reached out to pull her close, and discovered her wearing nothing but a thin nightgown. The feeling of her flesh pressed against him sent his insides into a rage and his body began to ache as it had done so long ago that night they had slept together. Hermione snuggled up even closer, one arm stroking his hair while the other traveled slowly down his chest to his stomach, then resting on his navel. Severus's breath deepened as he fought to control himself, his lower body reacting to her very, very close hand on his navel.

Hermione sighed deeply as she brought her hand from his chest, lower and lower. She could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. She pressed herself as close as she dared to his muscular body, feeling an ache that racked her whole body that she had never felt before. She wanted so badly for him to kiss her. Anywhere, she didn't care. Her breathing became labored as Severus reached and put an arm around her waist. She rolled over until she was sprawled on top of him, pressing her body as close as she could, her hormones raging inside her, threatening to make her lose control of herself.

Severus stiffened when he felt her lower body come into contact with his. He fought hard with himself, fighting for self-control. He finally reached up and kissed her, working his tongue into her mouth immediately and kissing her passionately. They both were sweating feverishly, barely even stopping for air. Finally Hermione put her foot down.

"Severus." Severus looked at her for a moment and understood. Hermione rolled off of him and lay there next to him staring at the ceiling, Severus's arm around her holding her close.

"I just don't-"

"I understand." They both lay there silently, enjoying one another's comfort and closeness. Severus had his window open, and a cool breeze graced the room and rustled the papers sitting on Severus's desk, the essential quiet looming over them like a calm and comforting sleep. Soon their eyes became heavy and they rested peacefully and soon entered a soothing realm of deep sleep that welcomed them with open arms.

The next morning brought new purpose for Hermione and Severus. It was the day of the hearing, a Saturday, since Hermione had to be able to attend, at 11am at the Ministry of Magic. This hearing was to decide if the, uh, student-teacher relationship would be worthy of a higher court. Dumbledore seriously doubted they would find any actual good reasons to do so; there was no law or rule at the school, and probably nothing about it in the wizarding laws. Severus was not comforted though; he found little hope if Lucius Malfoy was in the jury, or if Cornelius Fudge was either. Hermione was hoping against hope that they would find nothing wrong and leave them alone and have everything go back to normal. _But is it ever normal for a student to be romantically involved with a professor?_ If the jury thought this, then they would be dead. However, she tried not to think so negatively, said her goodbyes to Harry, Ron, and Ginny, and her, Severus, and Dumbledore began walking to the boundaries of the school grounds in order to get to a Portkey that had been made especially for them.

Once Dumbledore had located the Portkey, an abandoned tennis shoe, they waited until it was a minute to a quarter to 11am and all grasped the shoe. Hermione felt the all-to-familiar tug at her navel that was always unsettling and the world began to swirl forward as they were dragged to their next destination.

They walked through London until they reached the deserted phone booth that was the secret entrance. As they crammed into it, they heard a lady's voice begin to speak.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. What is your order of business?" said the woman's voice.

"This is Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Hermione Granger to attend a hearing at 11am on behalf of Miss Granger and Mr. Snape," Dumbledore replied easily.

"Thank you." A badge appeared on Severus's chest, as well as on the others. His said: Violation and Misdemeanor Hearing-Severus Snape, Accused. _How comforting._ Hermione's said the same thing; Dumbledore's was the same except he was "spokesperson" instead of "accused" like they were. _They make us look like we're criminals…_

Dumbledore led the way through the elevator the floor that their hearing was on. As Dumbledore opened the door and led them to the room, Hermione became uncomfortable. This reminded her of when Harry told her about his hearing when he had used magic to defend himself against two dementors, that, ironically, Umbridge had sent. Except for a single chair he had described, there was a table with three chairs for them. Severus and Hermione sat next to each other, waiting anxiously as the faces of the jury looked down on them from their seats, like vultures swooping in on dead carcasses. Then Cornelius Fudge, sitting in the judge's seat, took a piece of parchment and began to read. _Dirty bastard,_ Severus thought angrily, and took Hermione's hand in his for comfort to both of them.

"The hearing to decide the future course of the case of Hermione Granger and Severus Snape vs. The Ministry of Magic, charged as such: Severus A. Snape, with fraternizations with an underage witch and an inappropriate relationship in a school environment, and Hermione Granger, with inappropriate contact with an older wizard and inexcusable and unacceptable visitations to his private chambers," Fudge said professionally. Hermione blanched and they both looked in horror at each other: how did they know about that? "It is to the discretion of the jury and the final decision of the judge as to if they shall be charged and the case taken to court."

"The defendant's spokesperson may now begin their testimony," said the Minister after a brief pause. Dumbledore stood and began.

"I would first like to begin with a description of these two people sitting next to me. I will start with Hermione Granger. She is a sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sixteen years old. She is a bright young student with lots of determination and talent, a fairly sensible and intelligent young woman. Praised shamelessly by her teachers, she is a student with a wide range of capability and knowledge that is extremely responsible and agreeable. Severus Snape is the Potions Master and Professor of Potions at Hogwarts, teaching for over 13 years at the school. He is also an intelligent man who is extremely reserved and cautious, and strives to effectively teach his students the art of potion making. He is extremely experienced in his field and well adept to the environment the school brings. They are here because I wrote to the Ministry for advice as to what should be done about it. Knowing the rules of our school, there were none that they were breaking. However, the Ministry insisted on becoming involved," Dumbledore's eyes glittered dangerously, "and put charges on both the teacher and student. There is no law that forbids a student to be involved with a teacher, as there is no law that forbids candy to be eaten on Sunday, " (This brought several chuckles from the jury) "and as such it is pointless to charge them for something that is not an offense in the school jurisdiction or in the British Ministry of Magic wizarding laws," he finished, sitting down heavily. Hermione was impressed; surely they would find nothing wrong with that.

"How old are you, Severus Snape?" came a jury's voice.

"Thirty-seven," he said, realizing he had turned thirty-seven only a month or so ago.

"And the student, Hermione Granger, is sixteen, correct?" said the jurywoman.

"Yes," answered Dumbledore for Hermione.

"So that means that she, an underage witch, is involved romantically and sexually with a man twice her age?" the woman pressed.

"Objection! What does this have to do with anything?" Dumbledore asked.

"It has everything to do with it," Cornelius Fudge said, in a suave tone. Hermione glared at him.

"Can the girl, Miss Granger, be questioned?" said another juryman, a tall lanky fellow with a squarish profile and long fingers.

"Yes," Dumbledore replied, and sat down.

"Hermione, is that your name? Do you mind if I call you that?" said the juryman.

"Yes," Hermione said weakly.

"Now, Hermione. You are 16 years old, and will be a minor until you turn 18. As a minor, you have limitations, such as not being allowed to use magic outside of school, and other such forbiddances. It is also inappropriate for a girl your age to be involved with a teacher on such a serious scale. A student and teacher are to have a respecting relationship, a casual one, with no physical contact or romantic references. You are intimately involved with this man, Professor Snape, are you not?"

"Of course she is, and why do you give a damn?" Severus cut in angrily.

"Yes," Hermione said.

"Miss Granger, do you know anyone else your age that is romantically involved with a teacher or an adult over twice his or her age?" asked another.

"No."

"So you admit that it is unusual? Do you not?" Hermione was silent.

"Answer the question," snapped Fudge.

"Yes."

"Could we now ask questions of Severus Snape?" said the lanky man.

"Permission granted," Dumbledore said. Hermione noticed a look in his eye that said this was not going the way he wanted it to.

"Professor Snape, you are very skilled with Potions?" asked a portly older woman with graying hair.

"Yes, you could say that." Severus was clutching Hermione's hand tightly, both palms clammy.

"Then are you capable of brewing a very strong and long-lasting Love Potion to administer to innocent young female students that you fancy?" came a silky and over-confident voice on the far end. Severus cursed. _Lucius. What a surprise._

"I would not do such a thing!" Severus said, his patience with these people wavering; Hermione squeezed his hand in reassurance.

"Could you though?" said another juryman, fired up by Lucius's question.

"Most likely."

"Tell me Severus, have you bedded with this student?" Lucius said coyly.

"WHY IS HE IN THIS HEARING! THE JURY IS SUPPOSED TO BE UNBIASED!" Snape roared.

"Professor Snape, Lucius Malfoy does not have a biased opinion towards you nor does anyone else. If you cannot calm yourself, you will be asked to leave," Fudge cut in brusquely, eyeing Severus with great disapproval. Severus fumed, glaring daggers at Lucius, who simply smiled back, looking pleased with himself.

"Ah, well, time passes quickly. It is the lunch break!" said Dumbledore amiably. Fudge had no choice but to recess the hearing until after the "lunch break", much to both Severus and Hermione's relief.

"They are certainly very bold," Hermione whispered to Severus.

"I'll kill Lucius, I'll kill him," Severus said, shaking.

"Severus, they'll think you're violent or something if you keep blowing up like that. It will only make things worse!" Hermione pleaded.

"I suppose your right." _Shit. What are we going to do? Lucius will blackmail the jury just so he can get me into trouble. Damn him. _

Hermione watched Severus, clearly worried. _I don't want to lose him, but what if we lose the case? _She shuddered. That was not something she wanted to think about, but it was haunting her as they walked back into the hearing, Hermione dreading every god-awful step she took toward what might be their doom.

**A/N: Realllllly long chappie! Took me forever to get through! I know I am making things very evil for dear Severus and Hermione, but don't worry, it's all for a reason. The hearing will continue in the next chapter! Review please!**


	18. Chapter 18: Hearing is Believing

**A/N: Eaargh!!!!! Prolonged silence……..**

**(Thanks for all the reviews!)**

**Chapter 18: Hearing is Believing **

"Well, I believe we have enough information to make our decision," Fudge said pompously. Severus and Hermione looked at each other.

"We'll get through this no matter what," Severus whispered, and took her hand.

"All right. The decision is yay, or nay, that this inappropriate relationship is serious enough to take to the higher courts to be held as a court trial for the offenses of which Miss Granger and Mr. Snape have been accused." Fudge paused for effect. Hermione looked desperately at each jury face, praying that it would not be a majority vote against them. They all avoided her gaze, either embarrassed or annoyed. _There must be someone in that jury who thinks this is wrong! _She thought furiously. Severus only looked at Lucius Malfoy, who had a smug look on his face that worried Severus, but he didn't show it; not over his dead body would he give that man any satisfaction.

"Those in favor, raise their hands," Fudge said. The jury members looked around nervously, and finally, one by one, the hands came up. Severus counted each one. There were twenty on the jury; five, six, seven, nine…ten. He closed his eyes, wishing his hearing to fail him right at this moment. Fifteen people had raised their hands, but did not include Lucius. Puzzling.

"Now, all those against," Fudge said wickedly, acting as if he wanted to rub this in their faces, especially Dumbledore's. He openly disliked the man for first ruining the order he had restored in their world, and then for his involvement with the Order of the Phoenix, reborn. Hermione glared with all the hatred she could muster, she wanted to slap him silly. The five left, including Lucius (why he voting against, Severus did not know, probably some sick joke of his), raised their hands tiredly, for they knew their vote really didn't matter.

"The high court officials and jury will be awaiting you to begin the trial on June 22nd, and you have until then to prepare your defense. Court is adjourned," and Fudge pounded down the gavel, and the sound seemed to have a ringing permanency about it.

%%%

Dumbledore ushered Severus and Hermione out of the courtroom, for they seemed unable to walk themselves in the right direction. _They had acted as if they knew they would lose the hearing, with the trial already scheduled! _Severus thought angrily.

"I'll kill that, that, bastard!" Severus muttered angrily, staring after Lucius with utmost hatred.

"Severus, you need to calm down." Dumbledore steered Severus away from Lucius to avoid any confrontation. Hermione was still in somewhat of a trance, repeating over and over in her head: _This is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong!_ The windows next to her in the hallway shattered; broken shards of glass descended on everyone. People panicked, one woman screamed. Hermione stood transfixed, staring at the shard of glass working its way into her palm. She started walking away, and she bumped into someone and tried to shove them out of the way. Her forearm suddenly became enclosed in the vise-like grip of Lucius Malfoy.

"I only voted because I felt sorry for poor Severus. Didn't get his way this time, did he?" Hermione struggled in his grip, the glass shard causing blood to trickle down her palm onto Lucius's hand. He hissed at her and shirked his hand away. "Get your disgusting blood away from me, Mudblood!" And Hermione took all the rage boiling inside her and mustered it together into strength and slapped him as hard as she could across the face. Lucius glared venomously at her and took hold of her arm again and smacked her across the face. She fell, and Severus came out of nowhere and seeing Hermione being struck by Lucius, aimed a well-timed punch at Lucius's face and then grabbed him as he fell and slammed him against the wall.

"Get your hands off of her Lucius!" He snarled, shaking with rage.

"Didn't know you had such deep feelings for the filthy little whore. What will Master say?" Lucius whispered so only Severus could hear.

"Get away from her," he said again, his voice dangerously low.

"What ever you say, Severus. Just know that this will not be brushed under the rug," and he walked away, people looking at him as he went by, and more importantly, the red welt on his cheek from Hermione and the just-beginning-to-form black eye from Severus Snape.

Severus, now rid of Lucius, rushed to Hermione's aid shortly after Dumbledore had. She took his hand and he helped her up. He saw the finger marks on her arm, distinct bruises of where Lucius had grabbed her. Then his eyes traveled to her face, which was brimming with tears. The tears could not hide the long black bruise along her cheekbone. He pulled her close and held her tightly, Hermione now quietly sobbing. Luckily, mostly everyone had left, so only the workers would see the beat-up Lucius Malfoy leave the Ministry leaving, wondering how on earth that had happened. No one had seen what had taken place between Hermione and Severus and Lucius. All had already left or ran when Hermione had shattered the windows. Severus looked around at the windows in awe and surprise.

"You did that?" Hermione nodded slightly. He kissed her forehead. Dumbledore coughed.

"We should get back to Hogwarts as quickly as possible, so rumors don't begin to spread," said Dumbledore, and without another word, they returned to Hogwarts. Hermione gave a parting kiss, not caring who saw them, and then climbed to the Gryffindor Tower. She entered, and was overjoyed when no one was there, but then she remembered: there was a Quidditch game, Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. She prayed they would win; then they could play Slytherin for the Quidditch Cup. She wanted to go down and watch, but she did not feel like facing her friends, let alone the whole school. She dragged herself into bed and fell into a nightmare-ridden sleep.

She dreamed. In her dream, she was standing in front of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. It was somewhat blurry and hazed, but she could still make out what was happening. Severus was standing protectively in front of her. She sneaked a glance at Voldemort's face, besides it stark whiteness, lipless mouth, red snake eyes, his face contained only rage that was smoothed over by placidity.

"Severus. I see that your loyalty does not lie with me, and has not for many years. Did you think I was blind? That I did not know you were being a spy for my enemies? And the girl, I believed that you were only befriending the girl to get closer to what the enemy was doing and more importantly, to lead me to Potter. I was wrong." He looked around at his Death Eaters. "Looks like dear Severus has fallen in love with a Mudblood!" and the Dark Lord laughed, and his followers laughed cruelly with him. Severus had his wand in front of him, ready to defend her. Hermione began fumbling within her robes, and grasped her wand tightly under them. She knew some defense; she would not be helpless.

"Expelliarmus!" Voldemort said lazily, but his carelessness left Snape enough time to duck the spell and pull Hermione to one side. Voldemort only laughed. "Crucio!" he yelled, pointing his wand directly at Severus. Hermione shoved him out of the way. The spell hit her and stumbled and let out a scream. The Death Eaters stood watching the torture. Severus stood up to help her, but one Death Eater bound Severus with cord that shot of their wand. Hermione buckled as another overwhelming explosion of pain hit her, she screamed and screamed, falling to her knees. Then the pain let off, but Hermione could not move.

"Severus, I could keep her under the curse until she either goes insane or dies." He waved his wand again, Hermione let out another piercing scream; her lungs feeling trapped as her voice rasped from screaming. Severus stood helpless, bound by a Death eater's wand rope, could only watch Hermione, shivering in pain on the ground.

"Stop. You don't want her. Let her go. You want me. I'm the one who betrayed you. Just let her go…"

"Oh no. That would be too easy Severus…Too easy…too easy…too easy…" His words seemed to trail off. Hermione screamed as she saw a flash of green light and Severus fall to the ground, and then everything went black. She sat bolt upright in bed, in a cold sweat and shaking.

%%%

Hermione did not tell anyone about it. It was too hard to talk about. However, she could not hide the dark circles appearing under her eyes as she lost sleep. She had that same nightmare, every night. Every single night. But she could not even tell Severus about it. The Dark lord had stayed quiet the entire year, so Harry was beginning to feel extremely edgy and nervous. She couldn't tell him, or Ron or any of her friends. She thought Severus was too distracted about gathering research for their trial, and Dumbledore was too busy with the Order. She desperately hoped it was just a dream, nothing more. But the nightmare slowly became more vivid and clear as each week went by.

When Harry and Ron had seen the bruises the Sunday morning after they got back, they went ballistic. First Ron thought it was Severus, but then she explained what had happened at the hearing. Draco threatened her on the way to breakfast, obviously he had seen his father's state when he got home. Then, when everyone had sat down to eat breakfast, Harry and Ron had both walked over to Malfoy and immediately dragged him out his seat and began pummeling him. By the time any teachers could stop them, Draco had a broken and bleeding nose, a sprained ankle, a black eye, and other numerous bruises. Ron sported several broken fingers from punching Malfoy so hard, and Harry's mouth and lip were bleeding. They were docked fifty points each and given a week's of detention with Filch. They took it without complaint. Hermione wished her friends weren't so protective; it got them in trouble. However, she was glad that they were so supportive, and they had certainly made Malfoy pay for everything he had said to her.

Hermione was glad when exams came; it could take her mind off things. At least they would not have to worry about N.E.W.T.S this year, which was in seventh year. On the outside she just looked tired from studying for the exams, everyone knew how she was. On the contrary, it was because of the dream, but she had resolved to wait after the trial was all over before to tell Severus and everybody else. By then it might go away. Maybe her anxiety for the trial was causing the dream; she heard that that was possible.

Unfortunately, the dream did not go away. June 22nd was only less than a week away. It became so vivid; she began wandering to Severus's chambers to peek in on him while he was sleeping to see if he really was still alive.

Hermione woke up again from the nightmare, the clearest it had ever been. After she had calmed herself down, she glanced at her clock. 5:00am, on the morning of June Twenty-second. She got out of bed and began brushing her hair in front of the mirror. Then she suddenly dropped her brush with a clatter.

The twenty-second.

The dream.

Severus?!

The trial.

**A/N: Hard to write, really hard…Emotionally draining. Sorry for another cliffhanger. **


	19. Chapter 19: Tried and True

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews! I like when I get feedback! ::furry black doggie cracks a smile:: I know you are sick of the cliffhangers. They will be no more! Yay! You are sick of them, so this chapter will be long in order to include the entire trial… Just so you know.**

**You still want to know what happens to Trelawney and Draco????? ::sighs with frustration::**

**Chapter 19: Tried and True**

Severus met Hermione when she came out of the portrait that morning to find her pale-faced and silent. Not knowing her mood, he did not embrace her, for fear it would upset her more. They walked silently beside each other, one foot in front of the other.

And with one foot in front of the other, they entered the trial room. It was different from the previous one. It was painfully bright, the lights shining in their eyes. As they took their seats next to Dumbledore, she looked back at the people sitting behind them. Her friends were there, along Professor Lupin, and Tonks, disguised, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, even Moody. All the others sitting were just spectators, to act as witnesses of the trial. Hermione wondered if Dumbledore would call any of her friends up to testify. One thing that comforted Hermione was that there was a different jury, with the exception of Lucius, the bastard.

Severus glanced around at the court officials, and then was further angered when he saw Lucius sitting smugly with them. _He is already known as a Death Eater, why the hell is he in these trials? _He thought about it, and then it came to him. Money, and his political friends and connections would get him in this courtroom for sure. But Cornelius Fudge was nowhere to be seen. This worried him. He had made such a big deal about being the judge for the trial, but had not showed up. Then Umbridge came and huffily took his seat in the middle. Immediately half the crowd of people, ones from Hogwarts, erupted and many began hissing and pointing. Hermione stiffened, _Umbridge? What is she doing here?_ Umbridge cleared her throat loudly, Hermione remembered that all too well from their fifth year.

"I have an announcement. Cornelius Fudge will be absent from this trial, he has gone missing, so I will be stepping in for him." And before Umbridge could say anything else, the audience exploded. The Minister was missing? Umbridge realized her mistake at releasing this information, and began banging the gavel with her pudgy hand until they finally quieted.

"The trial of Mr. Snape and Miss Granger versus the Ministry of Magic will now begin. The spokesperson for the defendants may now say their opening defense." Everyone watched in anticipation as Dumbledore stood to begin.

"I do not believe this is even a case, just simply a waste of our precious time while Voldemort, the Dark Lord, is still on the loose," the first part of the sentence was greeted by dark looks from the jury, and then many people gasped in fright when he spoke his name. Dumbledore paid no heed and continued as if nothing had interrupted him. "I trust Professor Severus Snape with my life, and believe him to be a wrongly accused man. Miss Granger, a student at my school, is facing discriminating challenges that are unnecessary and obsolete. Do you really believe they should be punished for simply being in love?" And he sat down. The jury was silent, but several murmurs came from the crowd. Then the spokesperson of the jury, a short, twiggy man with a small white goatee said the jury's opening statement, then silence.

"The spokesman may now call witness(s) to testify," Umbridge said brusquely. Dumbledore nodded to Hermione, who got up shakily to sit in the witness stand. She swore in that she would tell the truth and sat down, everyone's eyes on her, making her queasy. Dumbledore stood.

"Tell me, Miss Granger, when did your relationship with Professor Snape first begin?" Hermione took a deep intake of breath.

"Well, I guess we had feelings for each other during the summer months before school started," she said carefully.

"So the, feelings, you said, occurred out of school proximities, correct?"

"Yes."

"And when were you actually together, so to speak?"

"We have been together for, ah, almost six months," Hermione replied after some thinking.

"Must be a very serious relationship for a 16 year old," Dumbledore commented kindly.

"Well, I, love him," she said, causing several people to shift in their seats.

"So you would say Severus has been good to you? Well mannered?"

"Yes, he has."

"No abuse or advances, I presume then?"

"None whatsoever."

"So this is quite a healthy and fulfilling relationship," said Dumbledore, smiling.

"Yes," Hermione answered, turning slightly pink in her cheeks, catching Severus's eye. _So far so good_, she thought happily.

"Thank you, I have no further questions, your honor." And Dumbledore gave Hermione a wink before taking his seat. The jury spokesman came down from his seat and someone had a chair set out for the tiny man to sit on. He coughed lightly.

"Ah, Miss Granger, it seems you feel very sure of yourself," he said, his strange comment catching her off guard.

"Well, yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"Why wouldn't you? Well, it seems this man has a certain influence on you. Could it be that he is putting words in your mouth?"

"Objection," said Dumbledore, "I believe it is not possible for Miss Granger to lie. There are tight and very strong spells that prevent it."

"Sustained," said Umbridge grumbled, not wanting to agree with him, "Mr. Porton, please refrain from such accusations."

"Very well," Mr. Porton resigned. "As I was saying, Mr. Snape seems to have an influence on you," he continued.

"Not the influence you speak of," Hermione said quietly. "Everyone is influenced by somebody."

"So are you suggesting that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might be influencing Professor Snape, who I may point out is a Death Eater?"

"Ex-Death Eater," Hermione corrected angrily, "if you knew him, you would know that he would never go back to the Dark Lord."

"If I knew him? Miss Granger, the man still bears the mark of service to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Would Mr. Snape please show the mark to the jury and audience?" Severus didn't move until Dumbledore nodded, and he stood up and pulled up his sleeve to reveal the black tattoo bearing the skull with the serpent coming out of the mouth. It was silent as all stared at the mark, but it looked very pale, as if the black was rubbed off. "Thank you, Mr. Snape," said Mr. Porton after a moment. "Judge Umbridge, would it be permitted to bring in some pieces of evidence into the courtroom?"

"I don't see why not," Umbridge answered, and from Mr. Porton's wave, one jurywoman walked out an adjacent door and reappeared shortly with a wooden box. Severus locked eyes with Hermione, what evidence could possibly have been found? The jurywoman gave then to the tiny man, who set the box in front of Hermione.

"Miss Granger, do you know what is in this box?"

"No." He opened the latch and drew out two mirrors. Hermione gasped, and Severus winced.

"Recognize these, I see?"

"Objection," Dumbledore said forcefully, "who gave permission for the defendants' belongings and living areas to be searched?"

"Cornelius Fudge," said Umbridge wickedly. "He felt it was necessary. Your objection is overruled." And Dumbledore sat down, looking slightly peeved by the allowance of such a thing.

"Now, Miss Granger, will you please read out loud what it says on the back of the mirrors?" Hermione glared at him before shakily reading.

"_Bound by love, unity, and friendship, two lovers will never be alone, for in the mirrors, one may call the other and they will answer._"

"Is this written on both mirrors?" asked Mr. Porton, gazing at Hermione with a triumphant stare.

"Yes."

"Where did these come from, Miss Granger?"

"I gave them as a gift to Severus at Christmas, I kept one and he kept the other," she answered forlornly.

"And where did you come by such rare artifacts of magic?" Hermione didn't say anything for several moments.

"I ordered them, from a provider."

"And who is the provider?" he demanded.

"I don't know."

"Are you withholding information?"

"She cannot lie!" shouted Dumbledore, raising his voice, which startled many people.

"Dumbledore, please do not speak out of turn, and, Mr. Porton, if she does not know, then she is truthful," said Umbridge dangerously.

"Fine. So you got those rare mirrors from some random provider… And what is this, I wonder?" Hermione flushed red as he withdrew a necklace, her necklace; the key. Severus squirmed in his seat, looking desperately at Hermione, who could offer no counsel.

"Does this key open anything in particular?"

"It, well, is a key to Severus's private chambers at Hogwarts," Hermione said quietly.

"A key to Mr. Snape's bedroom," he said loudly, as if some had not heard her answer, "And you said that he was good to you, and there were no advances whatsoever? I would consider this a serious advance!"

"It is not an advance of any kind! It's just-"

"An invitation?" Hermione grew silent, staring at her hands. She looked up again.

"It's not what you think."

"Oh really? The message I get from this key is that a grown man was inviting a young girl to his chambers for more than just small talk."

"No!" Hermione said defensively, tears prickling around her eyes.

"So Mr. Snape did not simply want to discuss grades or homework, now did he? You were sleeping with him! Were you not?"

"Objection! He is badgering the witness!" Dumbledore said angrily, on his feet.

"Overruled!" said Umbridge wickedly. "Miss Granger, you are required to answer." Hermione now had tears pouring freely down her cheeks.

"Yes," she sniffed, and began sobbing. Gasps and shouts filled the audience, only Harry and Ron were not surprised.

"So you were having sexual intercourse with this man!" Mr. Porton shouted, pointing at Severus, who sat stock still, his face blank. "How many times did you sleep with him?"

"Only once!" sobbed Hermione, her crying racking her body.

"And was it intentional?" Red-eyed, Hermione tried unsuccessfully to wipe her tears, but they continued to course down her cheeks unstopped.

"We were drunk," she said, barely getting the words out before putting her head on her arms, wanting to die right now from shame.

"So Mr. Snape first gives Miss Granger the key, then he lets her into his chamber, and then he encouraged an underage witch to drink until her judgment is compromised in her to sleep with her!"

"I DID NOT!" roared Severus, his chair knocked backward as he shot up. Dumbledore grabbed his chair and pulled him back down into it. More uproar surfaced from the audience as well as the jury. Umbridge started banging her gavel, trying to be heard over the voices yelling and Hermione's sobs. Severus cast a hateful glance at Lucius Malfoy. He smirked at Severus, and then all of the sudden his face contorted with pain. He grabbed his left arm tightly. Severus knew. He would feel it, but he had fought with it and it did not hurt him anymore. The Dark Lord was calling his Death Eaters. Lucius took advantage of the chaos to dodge out of the room, where he would most likely Apparate to his Master. Severus looked over in the direction of the Order members in the audience. Moody and Tonks did not miss a beat; they got up and followed Lucius out the door. _Good, follow that bastard,_ he thought angrily. He knew he should have been the one to follow him, but he was on trial, he could not leave.

Finally, Umbridge quieted the courtroom and was grimacing at her hand, which she apparently had smashed with the gavel. Hermione almost laughed. _Serves the devil woman right!_ She felt no pity or remorse; it was too entertaining to see Umbridge almost dancing with pain. Hermione couldn't resist. She made a clucking noise to imitate the sound of horse's hooves. Umbridge immediately stiffened and her eyes darted around, clearly terrified, trying to find out where it was coming from. She looked like an overstuffed pig in a dress that was trying to pick out a butcher among the crowd that would cut her up. Harry and Ron burst out laughing, and began applauding Hermione, who couldn't help but laugh with them. Not trusting the gavel, Umbridge yelled instead.

"Order! Order!" she yelled in her high-pitched, annoying voice. Harry and Ron clamped their mouths shut, but were still clearly sniggering behind their hands, Hermione was smiling at Severus, who suddenly had gotten the joke and gave her one of his reserved smiles for her.

The trial went on, Severus was then called to the witness stand, questioned by Dumbledore, who was trying to prove he was simply a man in a relationship and was not breaking any school rules or laws. Mr. Porton, clearly getting all he wanted out of Hermione, had no questions to ask Severus. He escaped the witness stand without much of a scene. Then other witnesses were called up. Professor Lupin testified, as well as Harry and Ron. Ron was about to jump over the witness stand and strangle Mr. Porton, he continued to make outlandish accusations of his friend Hermione, and he was turning red with fury until Umbridge stopped Mr. Porton, but only because she didn't want a full-scale brawl to break out. Meanwhile, through the rest of the trial, Hermione sat watching the faces of the jury, trying to put together what their final decision might be. After Mr. Porton's harshness with her, they seemed to grow even more skeptical that there even was a crime to speak of to accuse her of. They were not convinced that Severus was innocent though, but how could he be? The evidence Mr. Porton had brought up, the mirrors and key necklace he had confiscated from their things, were just lover's tokens, nothing more.

Then Mr. Porton and Dumbledore gave their closing remarks. Dumbledore was much more confident than Mr. Porton, the tiny man was clearly losing ground, and he knew it. Umbridge then cleared her throat again.

"Now the jury will decide the final verdict, there will be a recess until they have reached their decision," and she pounded the gavel gingerly.

Harry and Ron and all her friends rushed to Hermione the minute they could. Harry got there first, enveloping her in a warm hug, which made Hermione start crying again, but this time from gratefulness. She reached up and gave Harry a peck on the cheek, hugging him tighter.

"Excuse me, old pal, but your hugging time has expired," said Ron loudly, and everyone laughed. Then Ron came over, and, looking somewhat uncomfortable, put out his arms, which Hermione immediately ran into while giving him a kiss on the cheek too. Ron, however, did not take this so easily as Harry, his ears went red from not anger, but embarrassment. Hermione laughed.

"Ron!" she said teasingly. Then everyone else began to hug her in comfort, wishing her the best of luck, even Lupin managed a one-armed friendly hug. Hermione was so happy she had so many people to support her. And then she remembered, and turned.

Severus had been standing off to the side, away from the crowd that had flocked to Hermione. He had a somewhat sad expression on his face, but he quickly tried to hide it once she turned. _He has no one,_ she thought, fully realizing it for the first time. _Only me._ She took the five strides toward him to close the gap and ran into his arms, which gripped her tightly. Severus felt like if he let go of her, he would lose her. He did not know what the jury would decide, but this might be last time he will ever be allowed near her. He kissed the top of her head gently, her sweet-smelling hair filling his senses. He would miss that. He would miss everything about her. If they lost. If.

%%%

The jury entered to meet an absolutely stone silent courtroom. Severus searched their faces, trying to see who would betray the verdict. Lucius Malfoy had not returned, no surprise to him, and so only Mr. Porton and two others seemed tense and angry.

"The jury may now say the verdict," Umbridge said. Another woman stood up and began to read from a piece of parchment.

"The jury finds Hermione Granger, with the charges of an inappropriate relationship with a teacher, not guilty of all charges. The jury finds Severus Snape, with charges of inappropriate relationship with an under-age witch, seducing an unwilling female by drunkenness to take advantage of her, and misconduct within school boundaries, not guilty in this court of law. However, if punishment is seen fit, the school jurisdiction of Hogwarts School will give the proper penalties to Professor Severus Snape. Severus Snape is not guilty of any criminal charges or violations of wizarding law." Everyone was silent. Then Umbridge unnecessarily cleared her throat.

"Since you are cleared of all charges, your relationship is allowed," Umbridge spat out, "This court is adjourned," and banged the gavel. Hermione stood, looked at Severus, and then within a moment, her lips were pressed against his as he brought her into a loving kiss. When they broke away, Hermione eye's danced with relief and joy. Severus took her hands for the first time, and kissed them gently, before leading her out of the courtroom to the cheers of their supporters.

Later that night found Hermione getting ready for bed, a feeling of calm and ecstasy washing over her. They had won the case. The charges were lifted and their relationship was permitted. What could be better? _If I did not keep having that dream either. _

Severus's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. _What a strange dream, why does it keep haunting me?_ He got up, fully awake, and began to pace, feeling restless. He decided to just grade some end-of-the-year exams instead, to get his mind off the dream. He sat down at his desk, and his eyes caught a drawing of Hermione that lay on his desk. He smiled. _That was so long ago when she sneaked into my office and saw my drawings of her._ _If I had only known then_, he thought, shaking his head, and he fixed his attention on the exams.

Hermione shook her head, trying to rid her thoughts of the dream, and crawled into bed, feeling extremely tired. Not even the prospect of having the dream could stop her from falling asleep as her head touched the pillow.

"Professor Trelawney, how nice of you to visit. Is there something you need?" said Dumbledore as Sybil Trelawney appeared from the spiral staircase, looking a bit disheveled and nervous and on the verge of tears.

"Headmaster, there's something I need to confess," she said shakily. And she told the headmaster everything that had happened. He sat silently listening, not interrupting.

"I suppose Draco Malfoy wrote those to you as a dare?"

"It's possible, but I did not realize that might be the reason at the time," she answered, sniffing, for she had been crying.

"Neither did you realize that about the, uh, kiss he gave you during class?" Dumbledore inquired, looking over the tops of his half-moon spectacles at the strange Divination teacher.

"You can fire me now, Albus," she replied, her shoulders sagging.

"I will not do that, Sybil. You do not need to experience the same thing as last year," he said kindly.

"Oh thank you, Albus! Thank you!" her eyes shining behind her enormous magnifying glasses.

"But, you will spend this summer and next year under a strict probation under my watch," he said sternly.

"Yes, Headmaster, anything," Sybil squeaked.

"And you will have to write an apology letter to young Malfoy, and go into counseling at a facility for 500 hours of therapy," he said, and Sybil's good mood vanished in a heart beat.

"Very well, Headmaster!" she said, pouting, and stomped out of his office. Dumbledore could only shake his head at Trelawney's retreating form.

**A/N: There! Satisfied? Well I'm not until I get more reviews! ::furry black doggie growls tiredly and plops down for a well-deserved nap::**


	20. Chapter 20: The Final Sign

**A/N: Sorry it took so long! I've been really busy this week, more than usual…**

**Anyway, this is THE last chapter of this series. However, there WILL be an EPILOUGE to it, so don't panic. There will also be a SEQUEL, eventually! **

**So enjoy this chapter! I love you all, thank you for all the reviews for the last chapter! ::Furry black doggie jumps up and barks happily at the fanfic readers staring avidly at the computer screen, wondering the outcome:: **

**Chapter 20: The Final Sign **

Severus's Dark Mark seared his skin for the first time in 16 years; he leaped out of bed, more surprised than anything. It lasted for only a second, but he was already out of bed and wide-awake. _Why is it burning? I became immune to it years ago. _Still puzzled, he suddenly realized this must be a sign of some sort; he should be taking this seriously. Then he thought of the dream, and images of Hermione screaming in pain and Voldemort laughing, and him bound, helplessly watching him torture her. He dressed quickly and grabbed his wand, and then crept through the castle to the Gryffindor Tower.

Surprised at his own daring, he ordered the Fat Lady to let him through, even thought it was 11:30 at night. She was half-asleep, so she didn't make a fuss. As he stepped through the porthole, he collided with Harry Potter.

"Potter!" he grunted, he was too worried about Hermione to get mad at Harry.

"Professor? Did you feel it?" Harry glanced at Severus's left arm.

"Feel what?"

"I had this prickly feeling in my mind that Voldemort is up to something, and I've been seeing some stuff he's been doing in my dreams."

"You're supposed to be shielding your mind!" Snape hissed.

"Well who refused to keep teaching Occlumency?" Harry snapped accusingly.

"All right, fine. Where is Hermione?"

"I think she is still in bed, do you want me to bring her down?"

"Fine, Potter. Just don't be heard!" he hissed, as Harry, he now realized, was fully dressed, climbed the right staircase to the girls dormitory. He paced anxiously in the common room. Harry came down a short while later, with a surprisingly awake and pale Hermione Granger.

"Hermione, I had a dream."

"And so did I," she whispered. "Was it with the Dark Lord?"

"Yes, the same one perhaps?"

"Yes."

"What?" Harry asked. "Never mind. This all points to one thing; Voldemort is going to try something."

"Are you sure? When?"

"Tonight," Snape and Harry said together, and then looked at each other.

"I'm going to get Ron up, I'll be right back," and Harry darted stealthily up the stairs and out of sight.

"Why Weasley?" Severus asked tiredly, looking at Hermione.

"Safety in numbers," she whispered. Snape wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"Hermione." Severus wrapped her arms around Hermione and stroked her hair. Hermione laid her cheek against his chest, feeling safer than she had ever felt in a long time.

"Oh, how romantic." Hermione and Severus spun around, but before they could react, they were shoved towards the fireplace, now glowing with green fire. Then someone behind them hissed, 'Godric's Hollow!' and they entered the floo transport and vanished.

Masked Death Eaters immediately greeted Hermione by yanking her from the fireplace and pulling her out a door and onto the front yard of a house. She was sick to her stomach, was this Godric's Hollow? Then a quaint sign confirmed her fears. She felt her pocket inside her robes and breathed a sigh of relief; they did not know she had her wand. Then she stopped, and looked. Then she covered her mouth and took a deep breath, for otherwise she felt she would have vomited on the spot. This was the same scene that had haunted her for the past month. The entire group of Death Eaters stood staring at her, and in the front and center stood Lord Voldemort himself. Severus's hand gently pushed her behind and he stood poised, ready to fight, his wand retrieved from the folds of his robes. Many Death Eaters gave murmurs of discomfort behind their masks; they thought they had the element of surprise, so they expected Snape to not be carrying his wand with him.

"Severus. I see that your loyalty does not lie with me, and has not for many years. Did you think I was blind?" As he continued talking, Severus stiffened; this was exactly like the dream, for his words were exactly the same. But he had to keep it from following its course, but how? He was all alone, no one to help him. He could not take on the entire Death Eater group and the Dark Lord. _Where is hero Potter when you need him?_ This almost made him laugh despite the situation. Hermione heard the Death Eaters laughing after Voldemort's last words echoed in her mind. She was going to faint, this was exactly like the dream. She knew he would try to torture Severus, but if she didn't shove him away, he would suffer. Her heart was torn to pieces, and then she felt Severus grab her arm and yank her away as a disarming spell shot past her.

And before she knew what she was doing, she shoved Severus out of the way as the Cruciatus Curse hit her, and she screamed. Severus scrambled up. No way was he going to be helpless this time, when it was for real.

"Petrificus Totalus!" he yelled, pointing his wand at the Death Eater who was sneaking up behind him to no doubt bind him. The fellow Death eaters paid no heed to their unfortunate partner. Hermione screamed again, and Severus suddenly realized he was powerless to stop the curse; Voldemort could still torture her even if he knocked her over. This time, he was rooted to the ground not because of ropes helplessly binding him, but his will to live to save Hermione. If he moved, he would probably most definitely be killed. He heard his pleading words almost identical to those of his dream past his lips.

"Stop! You don't want her. Let her go. I'm the one who betrayed you; she doesn't have anything to do with this. Let her go.

"Oh, no. That would be too easy Severus. Too easy," Voldemort replied, actually chuckling. Hermione screamed again.

"Voldemort!" someone yelled. Severus turned to see Harry, Mr. Hero Boy, with sidekick Ron Weasley at his side. But Severus looked further and saw Dumbledore and almost the entire Order of the Phoenix standing behind him. Voldemort finally let the curse go, Hermione shuddered in pain before struggling to her hands and knees. She stared through pain-ridden eyes at the feet of Harry, and then her rapid recovering vision glanced at all the other pairs of legs, and their owners. How she managed to stand, she did not know, but no one stopped her. Voldemort had his eyes on who he was really looking for: her best friend Harry.

"Ah, if it isn't Harry Potter. So glad you could join us, although I already knew you were coming," Voldemort purred silkily. "I see you brought some friends with you," he began, but then clenched his teeth when he saw Dumbledore. "You have been a nuisance long enough, Potter! You ruined the prophecy," he spat.

"I don't need a goddamn prophecy to know how this will turn out. Either I kill you or you kill me, it's that simple." Hermione gasped. Was that the way it had to be? He, Harry, her best friend, would have to become a murderer. Harry continued talking, as if he thought it would stall Voldemort from trying to kill him. "I suppose you expected me to show up with just Ron, or even better, alone, thinking that the boy-who-lived was just going to be foolish and stupid, and hand himself over to you? I don't think so." Harry stepped forward and took Hermione's shaking hand, and snatched a glance at Severus, who took the hint and pulled Hermione back into the comforting crowd of Order members.

Harry stood alone, wand ready. The Death Eaters shifted restlessly behind their master, who stood, wand pointed down. He and Harry both knew that their wands could not fight against the other, remembering two years ago when Voldemort had risen again in the graveyard and they had dueled. Harry was sweating, but he stood firm. His eyes darted to Dumbledore, who then nodded.

"Petrificus Totalus!" the entire Order shouted as one, catching Death Eater and master alike by surprise. Voldemort only escaped Harry's hex by yanking a Death Eater in front of him. The Voldemort shoved the frozen Death Eater out of the way and pointed his wand at Hermione.

"Avada Kevadra!" and the flash of green light shone in Hermione's eyes, but suddenly she was falling to the ground, and she heard Harry's yell of fury and pain, and saw Severus fall to the ground, ducking, and then the world went completely black.

%%%

"Hermione. Hermione?" Severus stared anxiously at Hermione's still form. She was lying in her bed at Grimmauld Place, eyes closed. Severus had not left her bed since they had carried her back four days before. He refused to leave her side, same as Harry. Harry sat on the other side of the bed, staring at Hermione's face. So peaceful.

"Severus, she won't wake up," Harry said quietly.

"Goddamn you, Potter! She will wake up!" Severus said angrily.

"Severus, I think its time you started calling me Harry," Harry said, looking closely at Severus's face, which showed first surprise then sadness. Harry was seeing an entire different side of his teacher, and it had all been because of what Hermione had done.

"Shit, I can't forgive you, or your father, okay?" he muttered, his tone almost hopeless.

"What's to forgive? We all make mistakes," Harry replied, now unafraid of his Potions Professor.

"Not everyone, just you," Severus grumbled. Harry couldn't help but smile.

"Just because of this whole thing doesn't mean we're going to be all chummy and friendly, all right?" Severus warned.

"I understand, Severus. I just don't think we should keep this up," Harry answered.

"Don't expect me to grovel at your feet," Severus grumbled.

"I don't expect anything from you Severus, just respect."

"Okay…Harry." And Harry put out his hand, which Severus took after a slight hesitation.

"Okay. Here I am waking up from a goddamn coma and no one cares!" Severus turned to see Hermione sitting up in bed, arms crossed, looking accusingly at them both.

"Mione, you're awake," Harry said, but he let Severus go first. Severus immediately embraced Hermione, placing a hand on the back of her head before gently guiding her to his lips. Severus made it brief, and then Hermione got a hug from Harry too.

"Hermione, you must be starving," Severus said gently. Harry was starting to wonder about this new Severus Snape. If only so much hadn't ruined this man when he was young, he would have had an extremely happy life. But that life only came to him this year. Hermione had changed him. She was the sign he needed to turn himself and his life around.

"My stomach can wait. I need to know what happened after I passed out." Harry and Severus shifted uncomfortably.

"Hermione, I really don't want to talk about it," Harry replied, his voice hoarse.

"Please." Harry and Severus looked at each other, then, Severus began talking.

"Well, Voldemort tried to kill you."

"Tried?" She looked at Harry, who was now openly crying, tears coursing shamelessly down his cheeks.

"Someone also tried to kill me, but I managed to duck and then I hexed them," Severus added. Hermione looked from Harry to Severus.

"Wait. Where's Ron?" She looked at Severus, but his face was expressionless, but his eyes showed deep sympathy. She looked frantically at Harry, and saw his eyes, and they spoke a thousand words.

"No." Harry and Severus could say nothing. "No!" Hermione then jumped out of the bed and ran from the room, and Severus and Harry followed her. She ran through the Grimmauld Place. She looked in every room. Finally, she ran down the staircase, absolutely hysterical.

"NO! RON!" she screamed. Arthur and Molly Weasley looked at her from the living room. Molly had been crying, her eyes blood-shot from tears and no sleep. Arthur looked like he aged fifty years, his face ashen and his lips tight, and when he spoke, he sounded dead.

"Hermione, Ron is in here."

"Ron!" Hermione rushed to the couch, and there lay Ron. Hermione put a hand over her mouth, for fear she'd scream again. Her argumentive best friend, Ron, was lying there staring back at her unseeing, his eyes glazed over. His face was white, his mouth slightly open. Hermione reached out and pushed his flaming red hair out of his face. She took his hand, which was stone cold. She wanted to cry, but her eyes were dry and scratchy, unable to open up. She turned to find Severus and Harry standing with Molly and Arthur.

"He saved me, didn't he? He pushed me to the ground, he sacrificed himself." Their silence confirmed it. "Ron, why did you have to do that? Why? You had a whole life ahead of you, why'd you waste it on me, the bossy know-it-all?" Finally the tears came, soaking Ron's shirt as she held his hand. Then she stood up, and the others in the room saw a completely different side of Hermione. Hate burned in her eyes so strongly, it hurt to look her in the eye. "I will avenge your death, Ron, if it's the last thing I do." She turned to Harry. "Harry, I hope you kill that goddamn fucking son of a bitch. If you don't, I'll kill him myself." Then she took the coffee table and tipped it over, and it crashed into the fireplace. They cringed as she began tearing up the room, tearing down the pictures, smashing the china closet, and throwing the dishes across the room. Then she began ripping out the pages out of some of the books sitting in the ledge. Severus ran forward and grabbed her, pinning her against his body. She kicked and struggled, screaming.

"I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL KILL HIM! THAT BASTARD! LET ME GO! HE KILLED RON, THE FUCKING PRAT! LET ME GO!"

"Hermione, calm down!" Severus shouted, and then shut her up by kissing her. Several minutes passed, and in that time Molly and Arthur had put the room back together and repaired. Severus finally released her from his kiss, and she began crying on his shoulder.

The Hogwarts Express gave its final call for departure, and Harry and Hermione went into a compartment in the very back of the train, wanting to be left alone. Their friends respected that and left them in peace. They had said goodbye to everyone. Severus had promised that he would see her at Grimmauld Place very soon, and if he had to, he'd come get her himself. Harry was going to go directly to Grimmauld Place, for now that they knew where he'd been staying for the summer. He was not safe. As soon as they arrived at Platform 9 ¾, five Order members, most likely Arthur, Molly, Tonks, Lupin, and Moody would escort them.

"Harry?" Hermione looked at Harry. For the last days of school, he said little, even to her. She thought he looked like he had lost part of himself, when Ron died. A piece of himself had been taken away, and she felt that way too. There was no Ron to give her a chocolate frog, no Ron to talk incessantly about Quidditch, no Ron to argue with for hours, no Ron to comfort them, to make them laugh. Ron was gone as if he had never existed.

"Hermione, the prophecy said that either I kill Voldemort or he kills me." Hermione didn't even blink when Harry said his name.

"Harry, I didn't believe you earlier, but now I do." She stood and sat down next to him, taking his hand.

"Hermione, I am a marked man. I am damned to die or be a murderer. So many have died because of me, I don't want to lose you too." A tear dropped gently onto Hermione's hand.

"You won't, Harry, I promise. I'll be right there with you when you kill the bastard." Harry choked, laughing silently in spite of everything.

"I'll miss him, Hermione." He put an arm around her and she hugged him back.

"I will too, Harry." Hermione pulled away to stare at the land flashing by, wondering over and over again why she had argued with Ron all those years. She would give anything to have Ron come in to the compartment, smiling from ear to ear, to say he was just joking and that he wasn't dead, and stuff a chocolate frog in her mouth before she could sock him. But then she realized that Ron had sacrificed himself for a reason. He wanted her to live, to stand by Harry's side, and to remain in Severus's life, and to do everything possible to help the Order rid the world of Voldemort, to fulfill her dreams. She smiled as memories passed through her mind. Ron was not really gone. She stroked the key pendant hanging around her neck, a feeling of peace washing over her like a tonic as she watched the scenery fade from her vision.

**A/N: Sorry for the delay. I've been so busy this particular week, and it took me two days to write. Don't get mad at me, please. This is how it turns out. All the Ron fans, don't murder me in my sleep, and I will get out an epilogue and a sequel, so I'll be back! ::furry black doggie bows her head and trots away to ponder the meaning of life, wondering if she has done the right thing, writing this fanfic::**


	21. Chapter 21: Of all People, Epilogue

**A/N: This is the end. This is the very end. This is the very, very end. Okay, I'm done, really.**

**I'd like to dedicate this fic to all the fanfic readers who believed in me, even when I couldn't. I'd like to thank all the other brilliant writers of HGSS who inspired me to write my own in the first place. And finally, to my two best friends, whose objections (refer to A/N in Chapter 3) only fueled my stubbornness and drive to write it in pure spite, and because I wanted to!**

**Chapter 21: Of all People-Epilogue**

**_One year later_**

Hermione and Harry stood with the other seventh years, waiting in anticipation for their graduation ceremony, which was taking place on the day before the last day of school. They were exempt from attending classes that day, much to their delight. However, Hermione was still sad. She would never be able to look forward to an upcoming year at Hogwarts to see her Potions Professor, Severus Snape.

Yes, they had persevered through everything and were still together, much to many people's surprise. It was now common knowledge, that rarely any student or teacher batted an eye at anymore, which was fine with her and Severus. Their relationship continued to grow, and now they were almost inseparable. They never seemed to tire of each other after months of late night visits, heated discussions about potions, meetings for tea or a meal, and countless hours spent reading together. Severus stayed his subtle and reserved old self, but it was a much lighter version than the previous dark haunting of almost all his whole life. When people saw him with Hermione, his dark obsidian eyes radiated with brightness and practically sparkled with his intellectual and sincere side. No one ever thought that there was another side to Professor Snape, but Hermione seemed to bring out the better person in him. Hermione, on the other hand, grew much more mature than ever in his presence, and he made her feel confident in herself and brought out the lighter side in her as well. They shared a unique bond, and they trusted each other beyond anything. Hermione sighed. Now she'd probably never see him again, except during summers, but even that would make all that had happened in her sixth and seventh year slip away. She doubted he would even want to stay with her. _Would he forget everything we have gone through? Would it all just circle back to the days when to him she was nothing but a nuisance, Miss know-it-all Granger? _She did not know. Of all people in the world, she had to fall in love with Severus Snape.

Hermione glanced over at Harry. She thought about what they'd do after Hogwarts, she thought that this moment would never come. Harry and Hermione had received top marks on their N.E.W.T.S, and Harry was going to be off to Auror School to train. For her, she was going to go to the top wizarding university of Great Britain to learn more and become a researcher in a field of her choosing. This was what she chose, and she hoped she could be happy. Her parents were disappointed that she had not decided to go to a muggle university, but she could not just escape this world to go to a "normal" school. They still did not know about her and Severus, Hermione wanted to no longer be a student before she breathed a word to them. Severus did not mind at all, in fact, he had told her many times that he dreaded the day he would have to meet her parents and would much rather prefer if he didn't at all. She smiled to herself; he always amused her.

"Mione? You ready?" Harry nudged her gently as they walked through the doors to the Great Hall for the graduation ceremony.

"Yeah. As ready as I'll ever be."

Later, after the ceremony was over, the seventh years walked back to their dormitories to enjoy the rest of the day to themselves, clutching their certificates close to them. Right now they would have been in Potions, but they were excused because of Graduation.

"Harry, I'll meet you later in the common room, okay?"

"Sure, Herm. See you later," and walked away, but Hermione couldn't help but notice him take Ginny Weasley's hand. _Maybe something will become of them,_ she thought. They would be good together, but she wasn't going to be Miss Matchmaker for them. _Ron would want it, though, if he were still alive..._

She went immediately to the one place she had wanted to go all day: the dungeons, to see Severus. He would be sitting at his desk, most likely, either reading or grading end of the exams, alone. She quietly opened the door and let herself in.

Severus had been thinking a lot in particular about Hermione. He was worried that after she graduated, he was sure she'd find some young thickheaded hunk that was her age that would sweep her off her feet. He started to doubt himself. _She won't want an old man like me; she'll want someone her own age. And maybe I shouldn't stop her. _He looked up to see Hermione standing in front of his desk, he had heard her coming before she even opened the door, but he waited until she spoke first before looking at her.

"Severus, I came to see you." He laughed to himself; she amused him so much.

"I can see that, Hermione. Do you want to talk? Or do you just want to keep your old man company?" Humor danced in his eyes.

"You are not that old, Severus. And yes, I do want to talk about something important," she replied. _Oh no, is it what I feared? _He thought wildly.

"What is it?"

"Well, now that I've graduated and everything, I'll be going to the university," she began.

"Yes, you have told me. I am happy for you," he answered warmly, but with a tiny trace of sorrow.

"But, that changes things for me, and for you."

"Yes, I know."

"I'm just…afraid that you won't want to be together anymore, for good," she said quietly. "I mean, I know I'm really young and innocent compared to you and other adults, but I'll try not to make your life difficult-"

"Who said you were making my life difficult? I did not, and stop falsely accusing yourself. If I had been picky about your age or maturity, you wouldn't be standing here right now talking to me," he cut in firmly. "And, you would not be the woman of my life," he added. Hermione's heart fluttered and Severus stood up, and began leaning over the desk as Hermione climbed onto it, and sat on her knees, her eyes level with his. Within a moment their lips touched in a passionate kiss. Hermione opened herself to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, and his encircled her waist. She let his tongue pass her lips and leaned deeper into the kiss. Hermione felt like Severus was treating the kiss as if it was their last, a thought that puzzled her; she broke away.

"Severus, what's wrong?" Severus laughed, but it was a strained hoarse bark.

"Hermione, you are not blind. Once you enter the adult magical world, you will meet many new people, make new friends, and meet more attractive and younger men than I that will clamber to you on their hands and knees for your affection. Why will you waste your time on a helpless aging man such as myself when there are so many better candidates?" He gently took a lock of her hair and brushed it behind her ear. "You will not want to stay with me, you will want to explore the world and the men in it, and I cannot stop you," he finished, giving her a gentle kiss that lingered for only a moment. Hermione embraced him and rested her cheek against his shoulder. Then she looked up at him, and Severus was shocked to see a playful smile and a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Why would I want to date such inexperienced men when I've got the Master of Seduction?" She laughed melodically. Severus snorted.

"The master of seduction? Why such a ridiculous title?"

"Goes with your black heart, and I suppose robes, and hair and eyes-" Severus silenced her by pulling her into an open-mouthed kiss, probably showing her a thing or two for her cheekiness. Hermione laughed out loud as Severus kissed her neck gently. She ran her fingers experimentally through his dark hair, enjoying the soft texture. He smelled so good, like peppermint and crisp night air, if that was possible to be a scent. There also was a lingering aura of firewhiskey, but she paid no heed to it. Severus was utterly relieved, his worries washed away as he realized that Hermione loved him and would not leave him, as he would not leave her. Of all people in the magical community, his dull and unfeeling heart had opened and given Hermione Granger the key to the greatest depths and desires of his soul.

%%%

"Hurry up Hermione! The train is going to leave soon," Harry shouted after they said goodbye to Hagrid.

"All right! I'm coming!" Hermione shouted back, and as she stepped onto the train, she saw Severus walking towards her very quickly, his hand reaching for something in his robes.

"Severus, what-" Hermione began, and then stopped. He was holding a black box in his hand; she stared at it in shock. He placed it gently in her hand, and opened it for her. Inside the box, was something she did not expect to see at only eighteen years old, but there it was, a beautiful but simplistic diamond ring set in scrolled silver. She was speechless.

"Hermione, I am asking you to marry me," Severus said, sliding the ring gently onto her left ring finger.

"Well, I guess I have no choice, it's already on my hand," she whispered.

"Then is your answer a yes?" he replied, looking anxiously at her face.

"Are we allowed to-?"

"The minimum age for legal marriage is sixteen," he explained.

"Then I say yes! Yes, I will marry my Potions Teacher," she paused. "Amazing how things work out," she said happily, welcoming Severus's embrace, tears of joy gliding gently down her face.

"And all for the best," Severus whispered and brought his lips to hers in a sweet and simple kiss that lingered.

"Hermione! What the-" Harry yelled from the train.

"I'm coming!" she yelled back.

"I'll be waiting at Grimmauld Place, come as soon as you can," Severus said hurriedly, and Hermione gave him another warm kiss before dashing to the train and just barely jumping on the Hogwarts Express as it began to push off of the station to head for Platform 9 ¾. Hermione blew a kiss before ducking out of sight.

Severus stood silhouetted on the platform by the steam from the engine, gazing at the train as it pulled away. He brought two fingers to his lips and traced over them, the warmth of Hermione's last kiss still lingering. Smiling one of his rare smiles, he whispered, "I love you, Hermione Granger," and turned and began the lonely walk back to the castle. He had always been alone almost all his life. _Not anymore. _

**-The Grim **

__


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